The Mistress of Song
by PaintMeAntagonist
Summary: Delphine Aubade's just had her heart broken. She only wants to be left alone. When she starts going to newly renovated Opera Populaire she finds she can't hide from life. Will she have to go through it alone? ErikOC.
1. Chapter 1 The Overture of Excalibur

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Phantom, any of the song lyrics created by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Madame Giry or any of the other characters that were created by Gaston Leroux that will enter in this story.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, on with the story. Enjoy.

---

_The Mistress of Song_

Chapter One-The Overture of Excalibur

_**Delphine **_

****Delphine hardly knew what to think when her father surprised her with tickets to the opera that was to take place at the newly fixed Opera Populaire.

Part of her wanted to refuse. What use was it of her to go to the opera when her life seemed to be in such shambles.

After her fiancé, Monsieur Robert Lennings (an English gentleman) had left her for her own maid she had just not been up to any social functions. When Annabel Depadieu threw her annual ball she was not even in attendance.

She certainly did not feel up to going to an opera. However, her father's happy look when he showed her the tickets broke her heart. She couldn't possibly refuse him. Few things gave him happiness, pleasing her social needs was one of them. "There won't be a person not in attendance." He said. "You shall be the most stunning one there." She gave him a reassuring smile and thanked him.

As she sat in her room in front of her vanity she knew that she would have to put on a mask to cover up her pain and unwillingness to go to such an event. She would do it, however, because she wanted her father to know that she appreciated his effort.

She climbed out of the carriage with her head held high. Her midnight blue cloak moved in the wind to reveal her tight fitting black dress. Her father followed in her suit. As she entered the Opera Populaire her heart sank to her feet.

Not five feet away was Annabel Depadieu and her sister Clarice. Annabel gave her a smile and tried to wave her over. Delphine looked to her father, praying that he would demand she go straight to their box. He didn't. "Mademoiselle Depadieu wants you to go over." He said. "Why don't you?"

"Papa, shouldn't we go to the box? The show is bound to start soon."

"Delphi," He said to her. "you should socialize with your old friends. Nothing cures the heart like some good socialization."

"But, papa…sometimes the heart just needs solitude." She tried as she looked anxiously at him. "I just need more time to myself. I cannot face that yet."

He sighed and patted her shoulder. "All right, darling. Remember though, that too much solitude is never a good thing." He began walking up the stairs to their box.

Delphine looked at Annabel and waved a friendly hello before she flew up the sitars after her father.

---

As Delphine adjusted herself in the seat she saw the chandelier go dim. As the auditorium fell quiet she could have sworn she heard the sound of feet shuffling behind her. She turned back but there was no one. The two other chairs placed in the back of the box were empty.

She turned her gaze on her father. He smiled at her and pointed toward the stage. "Wait until you hear Antoinette De Bellizzio sing." He said. "It will be terrific."

She turned to her attention to the stage. At that moment, the luscious red curtains were pulled back and a group of women dressed in simple dresses walked out. She looked down at her program and strained her eyes to try and read the name of the opera. She realized that she did not remember it.

The light was too dim and she couldn't see anything on the paper. She set it in her lap and tried to pay attention to the women singing about some absurd party that a duchess was throwing. The thoughts began to swirl in her mind. She tried her hardest to pay attention but it all seemed so trivial. What could possibly be the point of so much fretting over some party designed to bring them all mates.

She stood so abruptly that she nearly fell back down. "Papa, I need some light. I'll be right back." She said quietly as she turned back toward the exit of the box.

"Where are you going?" He asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Just out side." She answered. "Just outside."

She let the light of the loggia meet her and she squinted to try and focus her eyes better. There was not a person about. Of course the opera had only just begun a half hour ago and she didn't expect anyone to really be out and about. She leaned against the wall and took in a deep breath.

"This is all to much." She said to herself as she brought a hand to her forehead. She was about to go back into the box when laughter reached her ears. She crept over to the rail and looked down to see a couple come in. They were holding hands and they regarded each other with adoration. They looked up to see her.

"It's really coming down." The man said to her. It was than that she realized they were drenched. The woman gave a giggle and pulled her beau off toward the admittance doors.

_How sweet._ She thought bitterly. _An innocent love, not yet ravaged by the howling wind of betrayal._ Wringing her hands together, she drifted back into the box.

---

After the show, Delphine and her father were greeted by the new owners of the Opera House. "We are very glad that you and Mademoiselle Aubade came." Monsieur La Fuevre said. "Knowing what your daughter is capable of doing with music, it is great to know she liked the performance."

"It was very good." Delphine lied through her teeth. The dancer's lounge was becoming stuffy. She felt an uneasy dizziness begin to take over her. "Can you tell me which way it is to the roof, Monsieur La Fuevre. I need a bit of fresh air." She said trying to resist the urge to fall down.

"Oh of course. If you walk down this hall you will see the dormitories. Ask Madame Giry to escort you. It is a bit dangerous if you do not know the way." She nodded her head and left the lounge.

Once she was in the hallway she used the wall to support her. This was an odd occurrence. She had never felt so unstable before. As she reached the end of the hall there was a rustle of fabric. She jerked her head back just in time to see a man cloaked in black fly down the hall. She did not see his face, or rather anything but the cloak. Yet she knew it was a man by the build. With her hands shaking, she steadied herself and peered around the corner. A woman stood there staring at her. "Excuse me, are you Madame Giry?" She asked. The woman nodded her head.

"What do you need, child?" She asked with a thick accent that was not impatient.

"Monsieur La Fuevre told me that you could escort me to the roof?"

"Oh, of course." The woman said. She looked at Delphine's trembling figure. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just a bit dizzy." Delphine said. Madame Giry approached her and offered her a hand. She took it gratefully, and let herself be escorted up above the suffocating interior of the Opera House.

---

Once on the roof, Delphine let out a sigh. She looked at the statues of the Greek gods. "It is very beautiful up here." She said as she took notice of the sleek look the rain had left. A playful spring breeze whipped about her, relaxing her highly strung nerves.

"Yes, the whole Opera House is a work of art." Madame Giry said. "What is your name child?"

"Delphine Aubade." She answered. "My father and I were in attendance of tonight's performance."

"You were in the dancer's lounge?"

Delphine nodded. She looked off to the corner of the roof. The sight of the city spread out before her made her wish she had not come up there. It made her even more dizzy. She found herself clutching a statue to stay up right. Madame Giry looked on with a look of concern. "Delphine, I do not wish to intrude but if you felt so sick why did you come tonight?" She asked with a soothing tone. As if she didn't want to upset her.

"I was not feeling like this until I went into the dancer's lounge."

"Perhaps it was all the smoke." She said.

"It could be." Delphine said. "It seemed that as soon as I met the owners I was overcome by a sudden lack of air and the need to get out of there. I felt…I felt somewhat like a caged animal. Do you know what I am saying?" she shook her head. "I guess it is just an anxiety attack." She said.

"If you would like, I could take you down to rest in one of the dressing rooms."

"Oh I couldn't impose on any of the singers." She said. "Besides, my father would not know what happened to me."

"I know a dressing room that no one has gotten assigned yet. I could tell your father were you where so he could come to you when you two should leave." Madame Giry said. Delphine had the sneaking suspicion that Madame Giry was trying to coax her away from the rooftop.

"I think I would rather wait up here for a moment longer." Delphine said.

"It is not safe up here." Madame Giry said with a slight anxiety. Delphine gave her a puzzled look. "It is slippery and cold." She added.

"I guess you are right." She said as went back to Madame Giry's side.

Madame Giry took her hand and began to lead her away from the rooftop. As the door was about to close behind her Delphine could have sworn she heard a cloak rustle just behind them.

---

Delphine sprawled herself along the chaise lounge. She looked about the elegantly decorated room that Madame Giry had brought her to. The vanity in one corner of the room look rather large for any normal singer. It was reserved for the lead role. Empty vases were stacked in one corner of the room. A few boxes lay under a table. It was apparent that room had been used for storage. She looked at another mirror, this one a full length on the wall. Something about it made her highly uneasy. She rested her head and closed her eyes.

As she did so she found herself beginning to drift away. In her uneasy sleep something began calling to her. The music was soft, barely audible over the sound of water being stirred by an oar. It was the sound of an organ, that much she could decipher. She knew her instruments and that was an organ. No piano could make that sound. It wasn't that they were completely different, it was more a matter of how she felt around them. Pianos made her feel light and airy while organs always seemed to make her soul crash down around her.

This particular song was an aria. It's sound made something bud in her soul. The voice accompanying the organ was one of great power. She could not hear the words but she knew the song was a call for strength. As the music seemed to flutter through her mind she felt the dizzy sensation overtake her again. The soft and lovely music turned into a screech of pain. She could feel it echoing in her mind. Beating against her skull. Its sound was that of a soul trapped in eternal damnation. The pain in that screech resounded through out her mind. Setting her soul aflame.

A cold hand touched her burning skin. She flew up into a sitting position and found herself staring at her father. He looked at her with a look of shock. "Delphi, are you all right? You look positively sick."

"Papa," She said in a voice she could barely hear. "take me home."

He stood back. "Why the sudden urge to flee the Opera House?" He asked as if he was under the impression that she enjoyed being there.

As the soft fragment of the aria returned to her she knew the answer to his question. "I have decided I am ready to compose again."

---

**Author's Note: **Thank you for starting to read this story. I feel really strongly about this story. It took me a lot of effort not to just jump in with the Phantom. He will make his first real appearance in the next chapter. This story kind got concocted in a dream and so I am trying it out in the terms of the Phantom of the Opera since it seems the appropriate setting for a young woman to realize all that life can throw at you. I thought I should warn you that it will probably end up turning into a love story, and probably a tragic one at that. Something about the situation seems to call for it.

Until next time.


	2. Chapter 2 Marguerite's Sonata

**Disclaimer: **As a formality I do not own any of the characters except for Delphine Aubade and the surrounding supporting characters (like her father, little Henri de Chagny, or Therese).

_**---**_

_**Chapter Two- Marguerite's Sonata**_

**Delphine**

Delphine awoke to the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. It lay sprawled across her bed. She slowly dragged herself upright and shifted over to the balcony doors. As she threw them open she heard the simple melody of a bird in the tree right in front of her balcony.

She stretched her limbs and leaned her elbows on the cool railing. Her dressing gown swaying in the wind, she felt like she could fly. The worst memories of last night had vanished as soon as she had swept herself into her musical domain in their basement. She spent much of the night dusting off her instruments.

She had polished her flute to pristine condition. She had tuned her violin. She had carefully dusted off each and every key on her piano. Her stacks of sheet music were taken out and the leather composer's folders she had tucked away under the floorboards of her bedroom were once again revealed to her in a glimmer of beauty. The songs, she had long forgotten came from her, flew from her fingers and into the air.

She found it remarkable that she had composed whole movements and she was equally surprised that they did not sound like she had felt so often the past few weeks.

Now as she stood, looking over the courtyard, she felt a sense of pride and strength flourish in her heart. Why had she ever let her music fall through her hands.

As she turned in her room and saw the gold chain hanging down from her vanity she felt the sadness rush over her again. Robert. That was why she had given up her music.

She could vaguely remember what she had been like three years prior to the whole affair. She had been a nationally renowned musician. She was excellent. She had perfect form and her music conveyed such emotion that it sent many people into weeps and made them sob or laugh with joy. Whatever she wanted from her music she got. She knew how to work with it without destroying its ability to stand on its own.

She remembered the first time she traveled to England she had been met by a group of French immigrants who were staying in London. They had even spread her fame across the Channel. She had been a whirlwind of joy and ecstasy. The most happiest sixteen year old one could possibly find.

While in England she had met the mysterious Robert Lennings. He had been quite taken with her music and said she must have been a prodigy when she was a child. She had laughed at him with the laugh of a girl who was rather embarrassed. He had playfully mocked her. From that moment on she was taken. She lived that whole month in London waiting for him to say to her what she felt for him. Two years her elder, she knew she should not expect so much but she couldn't help it. He gave her every sign of mutual feelings.

On her last day he had said it. Those three words that had made her decide to do whatever he wanted her to do. She had no idea that when he proposed she would be forced to give up her life's work. It wasn't so much that he had told her to give it up as it was his subtle ways of saying that a good wife would stay home and do the cooking and cleaning. Now just the thought of that alone sent her mind reeling. She had never had to do any of that before. She had always had maids to cater to her needs. But Robert was from the middle class and he wanted a wife who could do such things for him when her family was no longer providing money.

Two years into their relationship, a year before she had discovered he had run off with Nicole, he had went to her last performance. He did not seem to care that the audience knew why sweet and serene Delphine Aubade, who had dedicated her life to music, was suddenly dropping her talent. He did not seem to care about the hostilities that he faced from her extending family and friends.

That night when he had taken her into the carriage to drive to his flat in Northern Paris she had cried. "Don't worry." He said with a sad smile as he wiped a tear from her cheek. "You can always play for the family." That had set her off all over again. Soothingly, he had taken her hand and brought it to his lips. "I know how hard that was for you. Trust me, I appreciate it more than you will ever know. I promise you, I'll make up for it." And just like that she had locked the basement door and hidden her love for music under the floorboards.

As she looked back on it, his promise seemed rather small compared to the promise she had made to Music. True, she was no Christine Daae. True, her Angel of Music was much less in love with her but they had vowed to each other never to let go. In her love for a simple man who had excruciatingly simple ways she had abandoned her God-given gift. She would never make that mistake again.

Robert had never made her as happy as when she was playing music, as when music was all she needed to survive. Where he thought he could prove to her that love without sacrifice was not love at all she had known all along that he was wrong. He could not ever have possibly sustained her like music did.

All of this had came back to her as she came home from the Opera House last night. It amazed her how one feverish sleep, like the one she had had in the leading lady's dressing room, had made her see that God opened a window when he shut a door. She did not particularly favor the Opera House over her own musical domain. However, she had to say that it had given her something she had thought she lost forever.

This is why, as she walked about her room thinking about the past, she decided she would go to the Opera Populaire and inquire about taking a position in the pit orchestra. She felt that if she could spend time in the place where her newly written Overture of Excalibur had been inspired she might be able to repay the debt that she owed to the Gods of the Opera House.

---

Delphine found herself waiting outside of the managerial office of Monsieur Philippe La Fuevre. She held in her gloved hands two piece of music. One was the requiem mass for a woman named La Sorelli and the other was a piece of music she had acquired through the family friends, the Chagnys. It was a piece of music that Christine De Chagny had written. Angel of Music.

She adored Christine and adored her powerful figure over music and so when she offered to loan her the piece to audition she jumped at the chance. She sighed and leaned against the wall. She had been told to wait for a minute. That was about ten minutes ago. Whatever was keeping La Fuevre it must certainly be important.

She took a long look at Angel of Music. It seemed to resonate with a kind of sadness, just like all of Christine's work. Everyone knew she loved music but she also couldn't stand to be around it. She began humming a few lines and before she knew it, she was singing the lyrics that had been written to accompany it.

"_Angel of Music, Hide no longer, secret and strange angel."_

As she let the last note flow through the air she looked down the hall to see La Fuevre approaching with a fast stride. "Ah, Mademoiselle Aubade. It is good to see you again. I was told you had a question to ask me."

"Oh yes," She said as she followed him into his office. It was cluttered with papers. Mounds of papers that were strewn about the room. She wondered what they all were. He seemed to sense her curiosity and gave her a small smile.

"Opening an Opera House where many murders took place does come with its downsides." He said with a chuckle.

Delphine smiled. She had heard of these stories as well. She had not been in Paris at that time it happened, five years ago. She had been with her mother in Luxembourg. Oh how the details of the tragic event eluded her. She had even wanted to compose a movement in honor of those that perished. When Christine found out she had threatened to break all ties with girl. Delphine would rather forget about the whole affair than lose Christine. Since her mother's death, Christine had took on an adoptive mother-like role. Delphine looked up to her more than anyone would ever know.

"Monsieur, I was hoping, or rather wondering if you had any spaces available in your orchestra?"

"What? Oh yes. Of course we do. Even if we didn't we would make room for you." He said with another smile. Delphine liked the elderly man. Something about his lopsided grin, disheveled hair, and yet graceful movements had made him a prime target of admiration. Beside, anyone who could restore the Opera Populaire to its former glory deserved to be liked. "Did you want to start soon?"

"Oh yes, in time for the next opera. At least that was the plan."

"Good, Il Muto could use a good musician like you. We are hoping to put that into production two weeks from today." He said.

"Really, well that should be delightful."

"I know the little operetta should lighten people's attitudes towards the place. People only came last night to see if anyone fell into the clutches of the Opera Ghost." He scoffed. "That character has long since abandoned his shadowy haunt." He said reassuringly. "I looked everywhere. The cellars especially. Besides, with the fire that gutted the place he could not have survived." He said with false optimism.

"I am sure." Delphine said. "Well, thank you. I will do you justice."

"I am sure you will." He replied. "If you go down to the orchestra pit now I am sure the maestro could give you the music." He said. She nodded and turned to leave. He had started to shuffle papers when he looked up and called to her. "Rehearsals start next week." He said as an after thought. She smiled and nodded before she shut the door behind her.

---

Delphine sat next to Albert Michel, a cello player. They laughed as the maestro shook his head disapprovingly of the way the cast was acting. They were running about bickering with each other. "Monsieur La Fuevre was right, Il Muto certainly did lighten the mood." Delphine said with a laugh.

"Oh!" Cried the maestro as one of the chorus girls tripped over a stretching ballerina and tumbled onto him. "Therese." He scolded. "Why don't you watch were you are going?" he said.

The blonde girl smiled uneasily and tried to pick herself up off of the floor. She let out a scream of pain. All eyes turned to her. The first accident in the opera house. "I think it's sprained." The girl said with tears swimming in her blue eyes.

A group of ballerinas helped her to her feet and brought her down into one of the seats. "Rest until rehearsal is over." The maestro said.

"But maestro," Therese protested. "The performance is tonight. I won't be able to attend. You know there are only two girls who sing my part. With me gone no one will hear it." She said as she rubbed her ankle. "Pauline is too quiet on her own."

Pauline, a redheaded girl, gave a little glare and stuck her nose up. Delphine watched the maestro consider this and he let out a sigh. "What do you propose I do?" He asked.

Therese looked straight at Delphine. "Mademoiselle Aubade could sing it." She said.

Delphine gave a start. "What!"

"I know you can sing. You sing parts from Faust all the time." Therese said. "We're not asking you to be leading lady-"

"I should think not." Said Isabelle, the leading lady in the performance.

"Just be a chorus girl, for one night." Therese said.

"I don't think so." Delphine said. She was very unconfident in her ability to sing.

"Well…" The maestro said. "sing for us now. It's just a chorus part and if you don't feel confident we could always have a man join you ladies."

Delphine shook her head. "It's not going to happen."

"Please." Therese pleaded. "It's only three lines that you and Pauline are singing alone."

Delphine clutched her violin and shook her head. "I don't sing."

"Oh yes you do." Came an all to familiar voice. Delphine turned to see Christine walking down the aisle.

"What are you doing here?" Delphine asked in surprise.

"I was asked by your father to come and send you home. Your brother has just arrived from Italy." Delphine jumped up and looked at her with excitement.

"Really?" She asked. She gently set down her violin and began packing up her music. "I didn't know he was coming home so early."

She slid her violin into it's case and put it under her seat for that night's performance. As she climbed out of the pit she found Christine blocking her way. "I am not going to let you leave until you agree to sing that simple chorus part for tonight." Christine threatened.

"What does it matter to you?" Delphine asked with curiosity.

"Singing is the only form of music you have left to conquer. You have a voice. So use it."

"But-"

"Yes?"

She looked at Christine's serious face and she crumbled under her demand. "Oh all right." She said. "If I mess up it's all on you though."

"So do a run through right now." Christine suggested as she shrugged.

'But Antoine is waiting at the house."

"I know but you need at least one run through. Besides, little Henri loves to hear you sing." She said in regard to her son who peeked around his mother's dress.

Delphine bent down and looked the three year old in the eyes. "Do you want to hear me sing this?" She asked. The little boy nodded his head and gave her a smile. His sandy blond hair had fallen in front of his eyes. She smiled and reached out to scruff up his hair even more. As she stood up he held out a hand offering her something. "What is it?" She asked.

"I found it there." He said as he pointed towards an empty row. She picked it up out of his hand. It was a beautiful ring. What looked to be like an engagement ring.

"Some poor woman must have lost it." She mused to herself. She looked to Christine. She had gone pale. "What is wrong?"

Christine shook her head. "Nothing." She said. She looked like she wanted to snatch the ring from her.

"Do you want it?" Delphine offered it to her, but Christine backed up as if she had been offered a snake.

"No, you keep it safe for now." She said. Delphine shrugged and slipped it onto her finger so she wouldn't forget she had it. She turned back toward the maestro.

"Can we do the run through now?" He asked. She nodded her head and joined the cast on stage.

---

As Delphine was herded backstage to get dressed for the performance she was told continuously that she had come too late and they would need a miracle to get her ready for the first act, which was the one she was in throughout the whole thing.

She let herself be thrown into a dress and her hair was put up and her face was caked with white powder. Once she was done she felt rather like some stranger. Pauline grabbed her hand ran with her to the stage. They took their position and Delphine held her breath until the curtain was drawn.

---

**Erik**

He stood up in the catwalk as the performance began. Before the curtain was drawn he saw a girl other than the bossy Therese take her position. He studied her nervous expression and the way she held her breath before the curtain was drawn. It was apparent she was not normally a singer. Who would they possibly put up there that wasn't normally up there?

Why would they put someone up there who wasn't normally up there? Someone who was so obviously not a singer. He didn't find much respect for the new owners of the opera house. He had seen La Fuevre walking about. He was too easy going to run things. He had yet to see the other owner.

He didn't even know why he had made one of the infrequent trips to the above ground part of the opera. He had felt the sudden urge to watch tonight's performance. There was really no reason for it. It was not anything to get excited about. Nothing that would ignite passion. Just a simple operetta that played to people's desire to know about love affairs and infidelity.

It didn't appeal to him much. As he watched the people on the stage below he suddenly had the feeling that five years ago, the death of Joseph Buquet had been the only thing to make this show entertaining. If he wasn't afraid to be found out he would entertain the audience's real desire. The foolish owners had to know the only reason why there was such high attendance was because they wanted to see some trace of the tragedy that had been his life, as well as Christine's and even Raoul's.

He might have fed their appetite for real drama if he had felt like killing. He did not. He had not since Christine had shown him what monster he had been. He was not telling himself he had changed. He was sure that somewhere down in his horrible soul there was some need to make other's feel his pain, but he pushed that as far away from him as possible.

He watched the new girl move slowly behind the arrogant Pauline. She was so unsure of herself. Her big duet was about to be performed. Three whole lines. He could tell she was still nervous. He found it ridiculous that someone should be worried about that when other people suffered much worse fates on nights of Il Muto. Carlotta, for example had suffered a croak that sent her career to shambles. Buquet, well enough said about his fate.

He listened to the girl as she and Pauline took up their lines. She had a good voice, a natural voice but she was highly untrained. Sighing, he turned to see the shadow of a stagehand approaching the catwalk he was on. He reached for a rope and quickly climbed up it, into the darkness above.

---

The performance passed without a hitch. He watched as the performers began to walk toward the dancer's lounge. Madame Giry at his side. "Madame Giry, I want to thank you for keeping my secret." Erik said as he looked at the women giggling as they entered. "I am forever in you debt. However, I find it rather dull-witted of you to ask me to be here after ever performance. If I am found out I will have to ask more of you than what I have previously asked of you." He sounded like he was talking to an employee who tried her hardest to do what she was told but could not do it because her mind told her to rebel.

"No Erik, that is not why you are here tonight." Madame Giry said. "I thought you would want to know…Madame de Chagny has made her appearance here."

"When?" Erik asked as he turned around to look at her.

"Earlier today. She was at the rehearsal."

"Why?" He demanded. His heart still yearned to hear of Christine. Five years had not been enough to cure him. He desired to know what had become of the woman who he had loved.

"She has ties with one of the members of the pit orchestra. Delphine Aubade, the one who took Therese's part tonight."

So that was who it was. He had not recognized the girl with all of the makeup. She had been exploring his Opera House since she had arrived to work that first day last week. He had almost been caught on the roof two nights ago when he had thought everyone was gone. He had found the need for fresh air to be unbearable. He rarely felt this way and when he did he found no reason to deny himself what he wanted. That was why he had gone up there. He had not expected anyone to come up there, let alone a girl who did not even live in the dormitories.

The same girl he had seen after the reopening of the Opera Populaire three weeks previous. The undesirable effect of having another trespass on his time alone made him angry. He had had enough of this strange girl who so often intruded in his space. These thoughts seemed to be conveyed in his face for Madame Giry stood up straighter. "She is a good girl. She does not know about you." Madame Giry said defensively.

"Was she here tonight?" He asked, brushing aside the comment defending the intruder.

"Yes, with her family."

"Whose family?"

"With Delphine's family and her own." Madame Giry said. She watched Erik's face go dark. "I only tell you because you told me to." She said as if she were afraid of his anger.

"I understand, and my anger is not directed at you." He said absentmindedly. He began to pull at his leather gloves. "I think I will go to the roof until these people leave my domain." He said. Madame Giry nodded and watched him stalk away.

She hoped he would not do anything to reckless. She knew he was thinking about the possibility of Christine still being the building. She was. Madame Giry knew that much. In fact, Madame Giry knew exactly where. She was not going to follow the Phantom to tell him that though.

---

**Delphine**

Delphine and Christine walked about the hallways of the dressing rooms. "You did very well." Christine said. "You're brother was very proud."

"I bet he was." Delphine said. She was almost content. Except that she had the urge to run to the roof. It was rather stuffy in the corridor. It was amazing how whenever she least expected it she got a dizzy spell that sent nausea swirling through her body.

She was beginning to worry about that. What if something was dreadfully wrong with her. She pushed this thought out of her mind as she and Christine turned a corner. They paused as they saw to people huddled close to each other. It became apparent that they were kissing. Christine smiled, some nostalgic dream rising to the forefront of her mind.

Delphine felt another sickly spell pass over her. She did not like to watch couples who were in love. She could handle Christine and Raoul. That seemed like it had been forever. She would not dare object to Raoul's little signs of love toward his wife, no matter how much she felt sickened by it.

"Come, lets go down this way." Christine said as she steered her friend away.

"Can we go to the rood?" Delphine suddenly asked. Christine jerked her head to look at her.

"Are you all right, you look awfully pale?"

"No, I am fine. I just need some fresh air."

Christine nodded and began to lead the way to the roof.

---

Once there, she and Delphine took in the cool spring breeze. She smiled as she remembered the good things that had happened to her in the Opera House. "This is where Raoul and I first kissed." Christine said as she looked about her. "I can't believe how it feels like the same place." She said.

Delphine said nothing. She knew better than to intrude on Christine's past. She did not talk about it much. Especially about the Opera House. "I come up here sometimes, to get away." Delphine said.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure." Delphine said as she looked at the statue of a horse. "Sometimes it just feels to me like the world down there is closing in on me. There can be to many eyes when there really are none. Sometimes I just need fresh air."

"You need fresh air a lot these days." Christine said in a serious tone. She had seriously begun contemplating bringing her friend to the doctor's. She had seen the dizzy spells that took hold of her. Christine had once experienced those same things. She wanted to ask her friend, but knew it was a touchy subject. It was still too soon to speak of Robert.

"All month, really." She said. "I just go so dizzy and…" She trailed off. Christine bit her lip and looked at her friend. She took the younger girl's hand.

"Delphine?"

"Yes."

"I know you might think I am intruding, but I think I need to know. How far did you go with Robert?"

"What?" Delphine asked as her face turned a hue of red. She stumbled backward and turned her head embarrassed.

"Did you two…" She trailed off, unsure of what she was supposed to say to her. She had no idea of how she was supposed to bring this up to a girl who had not had this conversation with her own mother.

Delphine brought her hand to her forehead. "What if we did go that far?" She asked. "I'm not saying we did." She added quickly.

"Than I would know why you are always getting dizzy spells."

"Why?" Delphine asked with curiosity that made her seem more innocent than she really was.

"If you did…and I'm not saying you did…than you would be with child." Christine said. She studied the girl's face. There was no emotion displayed. Sometimes she hated it. It was so hard to read her when she put such a mask on. She was a master of that. She could hide her emotion so well. The only time she had ever seen her display any sadness or anger or loneliness was when she played her music. That was when she let herself go.

"Well than you don't know why I am getting dizzy." Delphine said with confidence. Christine sighed relief and turned away. She missed the pained look on Delphine's face. She missed the terror in her eyes. Before she turned back around, Delphine had masked it again. The stood staring at each other when Raoul's voice drifted to them. "Christine? Henri is crying. I think he wants to go home."

"Just a minute." She called back. She kissed Delphine's cheek. "You were really good tonight." She said. She walked toward the door. "I'll see you tomorrow right?" Delphine nodded. Christine disappeared back into the building, leaving Delphine up on the roof to ponder her fate. She moved toward the rail and looked down at the streets far below.

For a brief second she had wondered what it would be like to jump. Than she threw the idea away. Discarded it with the others she left piled up in her mind, just in case she needed them.

"How can I be so alone when I am surrounded by so many people?" She asked herself. She threw her head back and let out a laugh. "My fate, father was right. Solitude for to long makes it so hard to go back."

She was not talking about since Robert had left her. No, her true solitude had started when she had left music. Her one connection to the world. Now she had to struggle in a pool that was trying to thrust her down. She was trying to overcome her weakness, the desire to drop her music and run into the safety of a marriage.

Without realizing she had begun to hum Angel of Music. Sighing she turned around and looked at the rooftop. "Angel of Music, you've betrayed me." She said to herself. Closing her eyes, her hands strayed to her new problem. As she stood there with her hands on her stomach the sound of a heavy cloak brought her out of her contemplation. Her eyes flew open and she came face to face with a man wearing half a mask. Stumbling, she reached out to clutch something only meeting air. As she began to fall backwards, the rail so dangerously close, she found a firm hand on her arm.

The strange man had caught her. Screwing her eyes shut, she prayed that when she opened them it would be a stagehand. Slowly she peeled them open. The man stared at her with no expression in his face. He did not say a word. He pulled her up and handed her an envelope. She stared down at it. The off-white envelope contained an odd red wax seal she had never before seen. As she brought her head back up to ask what it was for she found herself alone on the rooftop.

She shook her head to both sides. There was no one there. The letter was real. It was real to her touch. So the man must have been real. She assured herself she was not losing her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she started for the door that would lead her back into the Opera Populaire.

---

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading another chapter of The Mistress of Song. This one is definitely longer than the last one, but that is partly due to my inability to stop writing. I know it might seems as if Delphine has suddenly lost her depression, but she hasn't. Her attitude towards lovers and her sadness at the thought of her own lost lover should make that clear. Also, all the references so far to the mask she can put on to hide her emotions.

The Phantom/ Erik has finally entered. I really struggled to find a way to connect him to Delphine without making it seem really horrible.

Also as a side note, I made some references to Angel of Music, which I do not own. The next few chapters will be containing song lyrics, because is it really Erik without song?

Until next time.


	3. Chapter 3 Jezebel's Dance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters created by Gaston Leroux and helped along by ALW

_**---**_

_**Chapter Three- Jezebel's Dance**_

**Delphine**

Delphine found herself sitting at her bureau with the strange letter placed before her. She had awoken to find it in the same place she had left it the night before. She had hoped that it would have vanished or been opened. Anything stop her from being tempted.

She sighed as she stared at it. It was not addressed to anyone, the front completely unmarred by any trace of ink. She gingerly picked it up and turned it over. The seal sent shivers down her spine. The red wax protruded out into the shape of a skull. She did not think that any family had such a crest. So whatever man would use it had to be very bold or not quite mental. She let her finger explore the shape of the skull.

How odd was the man who had given her this letter?

Before she knew it she had gently broken the seal. She held her breath as she pulled out the letter. It was written in a curious red ink. She just stared at the handwriting, not sure what to make of it. Red ink and a red skull? This man must be a bit deranged. No normal person would use red ink.

The letter was very simply put,

_Dear people of the Opera Populaire (and Paris in general),_

_I hope you have found it easy to relax into your old ways. I know, however, that you think I am just biding time until I strike again. I can assure you that is not the case. I would hate to think that I am being used as a ploy to draw in money or that I am the only reason that such people would go beyond their artistic understanding._

_I found it rather odd that the second performance should be Il Muto. I hope that no one in attendance was hoping for any glimpse of me. For I have no intention of troubling the people of Paris again. _

_This letter is not meant to acknowledge my presence, which no longer resides in the Opera House, but to say that I had hoped that the people of Paris would see beyond such tragic drama and see the real beauty of my little Opera House. If you do not attend the Opera House to see the performance than do not attend at all. It is a false hope to the people employed at the Opera Populaire, who, I am beginning to believe, think that the high attendance is due to their talent._

_Signed, O.G._

That was all it said. She was not sure what she was supposed to do with it. Why had she been given this letter? What did he want done with it? Why did he chose her to channel through?

She pushed away the thoughts creeping into her mind and turned back to the letter. She reread it and looked back in the envelope. A piece of paper was sitting at the bottom. She pulled it out. It was in the same red ink. _Publish in L'Epoque as soon as possible._ She breathed in and shook her head.

What would the people of Paris think when they found out she was the one who had brought such a letter to L'Epoque. She shuddered to think of the cruel smirks she would receive from the higher class of society. She could just imagine all ties with her old friends being cut. They thought she was already crazy enough as it was. If she started to talk about an opera ghost they would see her mentally insane and have her taken away.

Than again, maybe this would be it. His last words to the people of Paris who, as he had said, only went to the operas to see if he would drag another poor woman away.

Before she knew it she had thrown her cloak on and snatched the letter up. She went down the stairs and stood outside of her father's office. She knocked on the door before entering. "Papa?"

He looked up at her. "Yes?"

"I am going to Christine's. I'll be back before it gets dark." She said. He nodded and returned to his work. She closed the door silently behind her and walked towards the courtyard entrance. It was a short distance and she could make it there by the time Christine had eaten breakfast.

---

Delphine sat across from Christine and Raoul. They both smiled at her, waiting for her to explain why she had come over so soon. "I…" She tried but she couldn't find the strength to dredge up their past. She stared dumbly at her hands, not sure why she had even come.

"Delphine, what is it?" Christine asked.

She looked up at her. "I'm not sure you even want to know." For a minute Christine's face registered some shock.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course we want to know."

"All right," Delphine said as she started to pull the letter out of her pocket. Christine and Raoul sat on the edge of their seats. Thinking better of it, she let it stay where it was and placed her hands on the table in front of her. "say that there was this man. He caused great tragedy to the people of Paris. Everyone thought he had disappeared and he hadn't. So he gave a letter to someone to be published in L'Epoque. Do you think it should be published?"

"It depends on who wrote it and what it said." Raoul said. "If it was a homicidal maniac saying he would be back for them all, than no." He said with a laugh.

Delphine shook her head. "No, it's more of a…a…murder who says he doesn't want to hurt anyone and doesn't want to be used to bring people into the arts?" She said not sure how she was supposed to put it.

Christine rubbed her hands. "Well, I do not see any harm in that. Is he residing in Paris?"

"I don't know." Delphine said quietly. "No, it's in a book I was reading. I had stopped at a part where he had given a girl the letter and she was trying to decide if she should publish it in the local newspaper."

Raoul laughed. "That sounds like an odd book."

Delphine nodded her head vigorously. "Can I ask something of you two?" They both leaned closer as if they were expecting some disastrous blow. Christine nodded her head. "I wanted to ask you about the Phantom of the Opera."

Christine went a shade paler and Raoul closed his eyes against her. "I don't think-" Raoul started.

"What do you want to know?" Christine asked.

"I…I wanted to know about him. Everyone talks about him and I know nothing." She said. "I could not think of anyone better to ask."

Christine nodded. "I think we should go for a walk." She stood and Delphine followed her suit. Christine turned to Raoul. "I'll be back shortly." She said as she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Than she turned and led the way out of the house.

---

"Why do you suddenly ask me this now?" Christine asked.

"I…was just curious." She said. "I've been working in the Opera Populaire for about two weeks and everyone mentions him quietly like it is some bad omen. Yet they cannot help but speak of him. They are nervous about him. Why?"

"When I lived there he…committed many murders. It set all of the Opera workers on edge. Imagine it, already superstitious people seeing their fellows dying at the hands of some unknown man. A man that nobody ever saw. A man that could end up right behind you without a single sound. It sent people running." She paused and looked at Delphine. "He turned his attention from all of the intruding people to one person alone. A person that he had an obsession for. It seemed to cloud his every thought. Everything he did was an attempt to make her happy. But he didn't know that his soul was that of a monster and that she would never return his love. The tragedy that occurred while you and your mother were gone was what sent the Opera Populaire over the edge. Many were killed. A leading male, people in the audience. That is why everyone is so terrified of him. He had all those lives in his hand. He knew the Opera House better than anyone and he knew how to get around it. He escaped and people always kept their eyes open. I had thought that you would have been told this story before, but I guess they don't like to bring it up either."

Delphine grabbed her friend's shoulders. "Christine, you were that girl. You knew he was still alive? What id he comes back and does terrible things?" Delphine asked with a look of horror on her face.

"He won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I think I got through to him that murder accomplishes nothing but a darkened soul." She said as she walked on. "Now let me ask you something." She paused to see if Delphine protested. "Are you asking me this because you think you saw him?"

"No." Delphine said quickly. "I don't even know what he looks like." She said as an after thought.

"You would know if you did." Christine said. They had walked their way to the front of the Opera House. "Do you have to go in today?" She asked.

Delphine was silent as she looked up at the building. "Delphine, do you?"

"What?"

"Do you have to go in today?"

"Oh, yes." She said as she started up the stairs. I shall stop by on my way home." She said as she disappeared into the dark opera house.

---

She watched as Christine turned the corner. As soon as she was out of sight, Delphine dashed out of the building and started down the other street. As she walked toward L'Epoque's building she wonder if she was doing the right thing. If that man was the Phantom, which she thought he must be, than why would he chose her instead of someone he knew better. Like Madame Giry. She knew that Madame Giry had been talking to him that first night she had ever entered the Opera House. She had been in the same hallway that the man with the heavy cloak had come from. As she looked back on it, it must have been him.

As she reached the stone building she pulled out the letter. She would drop it off. She would not leave her name. She knew that that should keep her safe from the public eye and safe from the man who still haunted the Opera Populaire.

---

Delphine entered the Opera House as quietly as she could. It would not help her to be discovered by anyone. She had been told she need not come in on the day after the performance. If anyone found her there she would be under suspicion. As she slowly walked up to the loggia that she had first been in when she had seen the couple come in from outside, she got the sudden feeling that she was headed in the wrong direction. Stopping on the stairs, she looked back down.

Where else could she go. She had been exploring the place since she had started work there but she had no idea where the Phantom would be. She clutched the letter she had written to him. "All I'm going to do is give it to him and leave." She told herself as she stepped down from the stairs. As she reached the ground she heard the sound of somebody coming from the managerial office. She began to walk quickly towards the dormitories, and the rooftop.

---

After searching the rooftop, the catwalks, the auditorium, all of the boxes, the room with the round window that house the gears to the chandelier, and the prop room she headed towards the hallways of the dressing rooms. She did not no where else to look, and even though she didn't want to go back there, she knew that he might be lurking in the shadows just beyond her reach.

After opening every door that was unlocked she found herself in front of the dressing room that had brought her music back. Not sure why she had ended there, she shrugged and pushed the door open.

**---**

**Erik**

He had just pushed open the mirror-door in Christine's old dressing room when the door coming into the room was pushed open. In a panic, he froze. His heart was beating fast. He had vowed to himself not to get caught and here he was standing as if in a trance with one foot leading down into his prison and one foot in their world.

The door fell open and he saw who lay on the other side. The girl looked at him with her eyes wide open. For a moment, they stood there looking at each other. She shifted uncomfortably and that brought him back to reality. "Close the door." He said sharply. She jumped and went into the room.

"Excuse me." She said. "I…I…" She stared at him. "I brought your letter to L'Epoque." She said, "Here." She handed him a letter. It looked much like the letter he had given her. He held it gingerly, not exactly sure why she had given it to him. She seemed to sense this because a smirk crossed her face. She seemed to find it funny that they were suddenly on opposite sides of the spectrum from last night. She moved slowly to the vanity, as if she were afraid he would lash out at her if she moved too fast. "You're the Phantom?" She asked as she let her fingers glide across the mirror.

He did not answer. He did not feel he had to answer her. This intruder had no right to ask him questions. She had just barged into his sanctuary and did what she pleased. He did not like her snooping around, trying to find things that no one else could find. At this moment, he might have been more angry with himself for letting her see that the mirror was a passageway. He brushed it off on to her though, because he had every right to walk freely about his home. She was the intruder.

"Where does that lead?" She asked as she pointed a finger down the dark passage way he had come through. He stared at her, not wanting to say anything. Maybe she would leave if she got no reply. He watched her walk about the room. "Are you going to speak? No? I guess not than." With that she pushed past him and started down the passageway.

It took Erik a moment to realize that she had done it. When he spun around she had already walked a good deal into the underground. Rushing after her, he felt a bit like an animal protecting its den. He grasped her arms and spun her around. "What are you doing?" He asked with much more force than he had intended to use on her. Her eyes showed shock and pain.

That look made him drop his arms to his side. That pained look reminded him of the look on Christine's face when he had issued his ultimatum. Brushing past her, he started down the tunnel and he didn't look back.

**---**

**Delphine**

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She had not felt that she had enough courage in herself to do what she had done. She had not felt she was reckless enough to abandon her decent ways and be so direct with him.

When he had grabbed her and spun her around to face him she had been terrified. His sharp voice had failed to hide the own terror in his eyes. He was not accustomed to other people being so aggressive in going through his Opera House.

She stood there watching him stride quickly down the tunnel. Without a longer thought she dashed after him and followed him deep into the cellars of the Opera Populaire.

---

She let out a gasp as she saw the place where he had hidden himself. It looked like an underground haven. The candlesticks that lined the walls showed off some light. The first thing that caught her eye was the organ. It was lined with paper. Was this man composing music? There was so much she still did not know about him and she didn't understand half of what she did.

As she climbed out of the boat she saw the glass shattered on the ground. It crunched under her boots. What was this man doing here? She found herself going directly to the organ. It was a beautiful instrument. Not a speck of dust on it. The paper on it was, indeed, composing paper. The lines, however, were almost completely empty.

She could hear him moving about behind her. There was something about this man which made her feel like she wasn't so alone. Something made her feel like she didn't have the short end of the stick. His eyes, the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen, were the eyes of sadness. His eyes held all the sadness the world could possibly have. When he wasn't clouding them with his anger, his eyes were piercing orbs of truth. She had felt like sobbing when she had looked into them as he helped her into his boat. He offered no words of explanation.

She had asked to see his world and he had obliged. She had the feeling that he would have refused if he had wanted to speak to her. He had not said a word to her since the beginning of the tunnel. She hardly even noticed though, his actions spoke much louder than his words did.

She had tried to smile at him but it drifted away as she looked at him. He drew out all of her own feelings. He made her angry and sad all at one time. This is what she had wanted since Robert left her. Something that could express all of her emotions at once. The way this man was…it brought her to her knees. He was more devastating than a thousand storms, more heartbreaking than the most tragic love story, and more alone than any other creature in the world.

As she looked at his life, strewn about the place, she knew this man must live in complete isolation, solitary in his little world in the cellars. How she regretted every telling her father that she had needed solitude. She had never realized the extent it reached to.

Seating herself on the bench of the organ, she let her hands fall about the keys. She could hear him stop abruptly. She would have turned her head if she could bare to look at him any longer. She let the simple chord flow through the air. The organ was indeed beautiful. So rightly, it belonged to such a man.

As she began to play her Requiem Mass for the Heart, a song she had recently composed, she could hear him begin to move again. She had not expected him to stand right behind her. She could feel his eyes piercing her hands. He watched her hands fly through the air, across the keyboard.

After a while, the feel of his eyes just became another obstacle she had to overcome. This is what it had felt like playing for Robert. He had watched her, silently, without a word. He had never said a word while she was playing. That was the worst. She never knew what he thought the moment she was playing. He had time to mull it over and think of what he was going to say to her. She hated that.

Robert had never been so piercing in his gaze, though. He had never been looking for her fault, the way the Phantom was. His eyes followed her hands. She could feel them. She could feel his intense gaze. She stopped and turned to look at him. He seemed startled by this action, as if he had been drawn out of his own thoughts. "Do you play?" She asked. It was a question she already knew the answer to, but she was desperate to get him to talk.

The silence was pressing against her head and she could feel the dizziness start to pull at her stomach. He did not answer, the norm for him. He just stared at her as if he were thinking of what he should do. He brought a hand to the part of his face that was unmasked. He stopped in his action, as though any sudden movement would reveal to her something he preferred to keep to himself. "Will you play for me?" She tried again.

Not expecting an answer, she stood and walked toward a set of cracked mirrors. The shards of glass lying on the ground looked back up at her. Though cracked, she could see her reflection. She looked much more terrified than she felt. Is this what he saw? Was he not speaking for fear that she would scream bloody murder? She tried to relax her face but the attempt was futile. Was she really that frightened?

As she put a finger to her face a sound rifled around her. The organ keys had been pressed. It began a familiar tune. She struggled so hard to find where she had heard it before. She turned to see him playing and her heart stopped cold. "That's my Overture of Excalibur!" She said with an angry voice.

His hands stopped in midair. He turned to stare at her through his masked eyes. She went to him. "Where did you…?" He began but he trailed off as if unsure of what to ask.

"I heard that here, one night. In a dream." She said. She reached past him and picked up where he left off. Unlike him, she had finished composing it. She was nearing the end when his hands grasped hers.

"Don't finish it." He said quietly.

She let her hands fall back. "I did not realize it was you who was playing it." She said rather ashamed. So her return to music had not been her own creation. It was a plagiarized version of this man's work. "Do you want my copy?" She asked without realizing it. He shook his head.

"It seems you know much more about strength than I do." He said.

"I am sorry." She said again. Before she could stop herself, she had felt a tear slip down her cheek. His eyes stopped on it. She quickly wiped it away. "God." She said as she covered her eyes. "I never cry."

He turned away from her and began to play again. This song she had never heard before. It was hauntingly beautiful. The sounds echoed her sadness. When he finished he sat completely still.

"You're a genius." She said. "What is it called?"

"I did not name it." He said. She looked his hands above the keys. "The Lost Lover's Serenade." She said. "That's what it should be called."

"Why?" He asked.

"I would play that at my lover's funeral." She said as if her logic had no flaw in it.

"Why not your father's?" He asked. His tone seemed much more relaxed, almost curious.

"It is too intimate for family members." She said. "It sings of a tragic ending to a blossoming romance. A Romeo and Juliet of music."

The stayed in silence for sometime before she realized that she had probably been in the Opera House for hours. "Christine." She muttered under her breath. This brought the Phantom out of his own trance. His expression suddenly changed. "I need to go." She said.

He offered her no help.

"Will you bring me back?" She asked, if he refused she did not know what she would do. The thought of going through the underground alone made her spine shiver.

"Can you not make it back alone?"

"I would prefer your company." She said.

He sighed and stood. "Than we best be going."

---

**Erik**

Eric watched as the girl went through the mirror. This intruder had changed his mind about her. He watched her turn and wave to him before she closed the mirror. She was not what she appeared to be.

She was much more humble than he would have thought. She also had a musical ear that he found hard to believe after her performance from the previous night. Aside from that, she seemed to understand the sadness he faced. Of course, she had no real idea what his pain felt like. No one could. Yet she seemed so immersed in her own loss that she knew the direction he was coming from. He could have sworn he had heard her say Christine's name. After she had named his song. Did she know about his past? Did she know because Christine had told her? Or was it just a lucky guess on her part? He wanted to believe either of the former.

He didn't quite understand her. Her face was one of fright but her voice held confidence. She cried yet seemed unfazed by her own unhappiness. She might have hid it from herself but he had seen it. Lingering just beyond her eyes. Whatever man had caused such a deep sadness in those eyes must have done something horrible. The look in her eyes seemed one of a permanent sadness, much like his own eyes when he look at them, which was rare.

As he turned back to cellar home he felt something in his pocket. It was the letter she had given him.

---

The girl confused him more than any woman ever had. Her letter seemed to call out to him. It seemed to be designed to clue him in on Christine.

_I have done as you have asked. Your letter will be published in next weeks L'Epoque. I do not know much of you, though my friend has told me details that I am sure I would not have heard anywhere else. Just today she finally told me about you. She never wants to talk about that night. I was surprised to find her willing to talk. _

_I thought you might want to know that she has composed music for you. Though, I am sure she thinks no one knows. I do. All you have to do is listen._

_I am not sure why I wrote this letter in the first place. I am sure I sound like a child conversing with a friend. I suspect you like things more formal. I hope my actions have satisfied your needs for the people of Paris to know their wrongs._

_Your faithful servant,_

_Delphine Aubade_

Yes, the girl was most peculiar.

---

**Author's Note:** Another chapter. Contrary to what I said, I have decided to wait for any singing to go on between Delphine and the Phantom. It seemed like something to personal to both of them for them to just start after spending a few hours together.

I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to keep it more like the two were intrigued by each other. Did it work? I don't want one of those instant, they fall in love stories. It wouldn't fit for them. You know? Thanks to those of you who reviewed.

Until next time


	4. Chapter 4 The Ballet of Four

**Disclaimer: **I only own Delphine Aubade and the few minor characters such as her father, Henri de Chagny, and Robert Lennings. I do not claim ownership of Leroux's characters.

_**Chapter Four- The Ballet of Four**_

**Delphine**

"You have brought me…La la la da da da hum hum hum huh." Delphine sang as she walked about her room. The first day of rehearsal of the new opera was going on today. She had to be in by ten. It was about eight now.

She had awoken early. She had found it hard to sleep the last week. Last night she had spent hours staring at The Overture of Excalibur. She finally decided that she would give it to its rightful owner. He owned it much more than she did. She slipped it into her composing folder. With the overture gone, she wasn't sure how she could finish her opera. She couldn't keep it though. The guilt was biting away at her.

"Delphi, what are you doing?" Her brother asked from her doorway.

"I'm singing." She said with a small smile.

Her brother narrowed his eyes and put a stern look on his face. "All right, who is he?"

"What?" She asked with a laugh.

"Is it a guy?"

"No." She said with another laugh.

"You can't fool me. You little seductress, who did you get wrapped around your finger?" He asked with a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Ah, the King of Spain!" She said with a giggle as she twirled about. "It was magnificent. We ate by candlelight. We danced by the sound of the waves and we sang Don Juan in front of his bed."

Her brother let out a laugh. "A proper story line?" He asked. His face suddenly grew serious. "Delphi, Mariana said she saw you walking towards that clinic across the river. The one where…"

"She must have been mistaken." She said suddenly. "I wouldn't need to go there."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I think I would know if I needed the help of those women who help the harlots." She said defensively.

He shrugged and turned around. "Don't be late to the Opera House. I am sure they will need you."

---

Delphine ran toward the orchestra pit. She had the fleeting suspicion that she was going to find something there. On her stand there was a stack of papers. They seemed oddly out of place with the few other things on the other musicians' stands.

She dropped down and picked up the paper. It was a song that looked oddly like her Overture of Excalibur. Had he beaten her to it? She sighed as she set it back down and sat in her seat. She found herself letting her own copy of Overture of Excalibur slip through her fingers.

"What are you doing here so early, mademoiselle?" The maestro's voice called.

She turned to smile at him. "I'm sorry, monsieur. I just wanted to come early."

"That is true dedication." He said with a smile. "Yet, you still have a good hour before the other's even begin to arrive. Why don't you go explore." She nodded and stooped to pick up her own music. Putting it in the composing folder, she climbed out of the pit and walked towards the dressing rooms. The feeling she had had for weeks was gone. She was not dizzy, she could breath in the air without fear of falling over. If only Antoine had known what her trip across the river had been for.

They had promised her that a few days rest and she would be fine. They had not lied. She knew that when Clarice Depadieu had gone there she had almost died. Delphine seemed to be much stronger than that. She had faked a sprained ankle and she was left alone for a few days to recover. No one was the wiser.

Part of her did feel hollow, but what had she expected. The fruit of her love had been plucked away. Had she not been so consumed with horrid thoughts of disowning and shunning she would have had the child. In her position though, that was out of the question.

As she pushed open the door to Christine's old dressing room she saw that it had been cleaned a bit. The vanity was clean. The boxes were gone and the vases had been removed. She wondered if someone had got assigned to the dressing room.

She moved to the chaise lounge and sat there with her composing folder in her hand. As she stared at the mirror she wondered how she would leave it. If someone was using the room she wouldn't want to leave it for someone else to find. She stood and moved to the mirror. Prying it open she looked down into the darkness. She pulled the pink ribbon out of her hair and tied it around the folder. As she placed it on the damp floor she prayed he would be looking at his feet.

---

The group of string players were not having much luck. Whenever they fixed a problem with the tempo there was a problem with rhythms. It was an aggravating process, to be sure.

Delphine had wanted to propose a break for more than an hour when the owners came in. La Fuevre came in first. In his hand he clutched the new addition of L'Epoque. "Have you read this?" He demanded. "Someone thinks that this is funny. Dear people of the Opera Populaire ( and Paris in general), I hope you have found it easy to relax into your old ways. I know, however, that you think I am just biding time until I strike again. I can assure you that is not the case. I would hate to think that I am being used as a ploy to draw in money or that I am the only reason that such people would go beyond their artistic understanding. I found it rather odd that the second performance should be Il Muto. I hope that no one in attendance was hoping for any glimpse of me. So on and so forth. Can you believe this!" He demanded.

The whole auditorium was quiet. Not knowing how she was supposed to react she rose and went to look at the paper. "Maybe it really is the Opera Ghost." She said.

"No, I have already told you, my dear. He couldn't possibly still be here." La Fuevre said with certainty. "This will do nothing for business."

"Were you using him as a ploy." She asked with a hint of anger.

"Delphine!" La Fuevre said. "I thought you knew that it is all about marketing. If people chose to believe that he is still here and they buy tickets in hope to see his capture or anything of the sort…well than I am not one to disprove them."

"You just said that he wasn't here though."

"I know, but you work here. You deserve to know the truth."

"Well," Delphine said as she tried to keep her anger hidden. "If you find this letter to be a complete fake than I am sure the people of Paris will too and your booming business will continue. With no regard for the integrity of art!" She said as she stormed off the stage.

The orchestra members and the maestro looked to La Fuevre. He shook his head. "She's much too opinionated. I was simply trying to flush out the culprit." He said as he turned away. "Oh, when Delphine returns tell her that my business partner will be arriving today. He has decided to make his first appearance."

---

Delphine flung open the mirror with such force that she heard it shudder. She looked down at her feet. Her folder was gone. When had he gotten it? Was he just now lingering in the catwalks?

Not caring to think about having to find him in the Opera House she started down the passageway.

Once she reached the boat she maneuvered it out and helped it glide across the water. He had been right. They were using him as some sort of ploy. Why was such art going to waste? To appease the public desire for death and sadness.

As she reached the gate that had risen for the Phantom she realized it would not do the same for her. She clung to it. She did not know what to call him. "Phantom!" She shouted. There was a rustle of cloak and he appeared on stone shore.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a hoarse voice.

"Can you let me in?" She asked trying not to burst into tears.

He sighed and pulled a lever. She jumped back as the gate sprang to life. As soon as it was up she jumped from the boat and struggled to meet his outstretched hand. He pulled her from the water and watched her squeeze the water from her skirts. "What are you doing here?" He asked again.

"I couldn't stand to be up there with him."

"Who?"

"La Fuevre! He is just as greedy as the rest of them." She said with a shout. "He has no regard for music. It's all about money. It's all about marketing and people believing their ploys!"

He looked at her with a hint of a smirk on his face. She glared at him before a smile crept across her face. She laughed before she could stop herself.

---

**Erik**

Her laugh shattered the silence. One minute she had been raging on about the injustice of the real world and the next she had been laughing in his world. A place that had never known laughter.

When she was angry she looked much different. Her face got dark and her words got louder by nature. He wondered if this is what she had looked like up there. "I don't understand it." She said. "Why did I just start laughing?"

Erik was at a loss for words. He shrugged and turned away. She moved along behind him. "I still don't understand why you came all the way down here?" He said as he looked about the mess.

"I don't know why either." She said. "Did you…" she trailed off.

She seemed to want to say something. He looked back at her. She looked like a child that had been told to stand and not touch anything. She had her hands clasped in front of her and her face was one of trying to concentrate on anything but what she wanted.

"Did you get the folder?" She asked finally after a moment's pause.

He nodded and pointed toward the organ where he had placed her composing folder. He did not understand why she would give it to him. It was more her work than his. She understood it better than he did. Besides she had completed it, whereas he had not. She had even created a folder for it. Her unfinished opera. There was a Requiem Mass for the Heart behind the Overture and the start of another song that had no name.

He had looked through it as soon as he was back down in the cellars. Her music was beautiful. She knew what she was doing with it, he had to give her credit. He didn't want to take away from the budding genius of the girl.

He was drawn back to the present when she sighed. "I had thought I got music back from the Gods of the Opera House. Turns out it was just you." After a moment she seemed to realize what she had just said. "I…I didn't mean it like that!" She stammered.

He felt a chuckle rising in his throat but he thrust it back down. She would have to be satisfied with a smirk. That was all he was willing to show her. "Do you still have rehearsal?" He asked, it felt odd and out of place in his speech. He had never asked anyone such a thing. It had never occurred to him that you could ask such a thing.

"Yes," She said. "I should actually be going now. They'll wonder where I am." She turned her head to look at the water that separated her from the boat. He moved so that he was standing next to her. "Why did I jump out of the boat?" She asked with a laugh. "Oh well, I'll just have to get wet again." She started back towards the water. He caught her shoulder.

"I'll carry you to the boat." He said before he could stop himself. Why was he acting so friendly towards this girl? It couldn't possibly be because she had shown him a bit of kindness. It couldn't possibly be because he felt some how connected to her.

She hesitated as if not sure if she should except. Than she smiled. "Thank you."

He scooped her up in his arms and descended into the water. Once she was safely in the boat he nodded to her. She nodded back and stood to begin pushing the boat back. He watched her move away.

---

**Delphine**

Delphine tried to calm her nerves as she walked back toward the auditorium. It would not do for her to get angry again. As she slipped quietly into the back of the auditorium she saw that La Fuevre was still there, or maybe he had just come back. She tried to move quietly, so as not to alert him of her return. It did not work. "Ah, there she is. Monsieur Lennings, I would like you to meet our genius violin player, Delphine Aubade." Robert had turned around to look at her. Delphine felt the color fall from her face. "Delphine, this is my business associate. He is the other owner no has met yet." He seemed oblivious to the way to two people looked at each other. "We shall introduce him at next week's performance." He had walked off towards the maestro, leaving Robert alone to face Delphine on his own.

His face looked of one full of uneasiness. She brushed it aside and strode down the aisle. She would not let him make her fall apart. Not now, not ever again. She jumped into the pit orchestra and went to her seat. As she sat down she felt that Robert's eyes had never left her. She turned away to converse with a few of the other musicians. Before long he had disappeared and she was left to deal with the fresh pain that had risen in her heart.

---

Delphine was not happy when rehearsal ended and the maestro told her that Monsieur Lennings was going to come to meet her after. "I don't have time for this." She said as she packed up her violin. "I have better things to be doing." The maestro was not listening to her complain. He had moved over to the other side of the stage to converse with a few chorus girls.

As Delphine jumped onto the stage she glanced up at the catwalks. She could have sworn she saw a cloak move to reveal a white mask. She hardly noticed when her heart skipped a beat. She knew how to quickly reach the catwalks. If she did it fast enough she might see if it was him. She hurried toward the edge of the stage but that is where her luck ended. Robert appeared before her. "Delphine," He said with politeness.

"I don't have time for this right now." She said as she tried to move past him. His hands arrested her in her spot.

"Where do you have to hurry off to?" He asked. He looked at her hands for a moment. She found that odd. "What is this?" He asked as he pointed at her finger.

She looked down to see that she had an engagement ring on. The same one Christine had told her to keep safe almost two weeks ago. How had she forgotten it was on her finger. "It's a ring, Robert. What does it look like?" She asked with annoyance.

"Who did you get such a lavish engagement ring from?" He asked. She ignored his question but made the crucial mistake of looking to the catwalks. "Is he up there right now?" Robert asked. "Is he waiting for you to come to him in the catwalks?"

"Don't be ridiculous." She said. "There is no he."

"I find it hard to believe that you bought yourself an engagement ring." He said with a smirk.

"Leave me alone."

"He can't be a stagehand. They don't make nearly enough…Was it a singer? Is it you patron?"

"I was not even aware we had a patron." She said as she brushed his hands off of her.

"Is he a musician? A talented musician?"

"Why does it matter to you?" She asked, suddenly aware that it shouldn't.

He ignored her question. "Should we go for a little walk in the catwalks? To see if he meets you?"

"You're being ridiculous." Delphine hissed. "Besides, what about that ring on your finger. Hardly the one you pledged to me!"

He fingered his gold band on his finer absentmindedly. "Nicole thinks the other one was a bit to gaudy." He said. "Much like the one you're wearing. Is he rich than?"

"Yes, he's rich and he's a genius musician. He's waiting for me in the catwalks. Why? So we can run off to the dormitories and have some fun before papa expects me home." She said with annoyance. She finally succeeded in pushing past him. He followed her. She started towards the catwalk but changed her mind. She went back out onto the stage. Her glance up at the catwalks this time yielded little to her. If he had been there he was gone now. She scanned the auditorium. Her eye rested on box five. There he was. Looking at her. She could see the curious look pressed into his mouth. She looked away before Robert could track her gaze. "Why are you still following me?" She demanded.

With one swift movement he had her wrist clamped in his hand and he was dragging her towards the back of the auditorium. He threw her roughly in a seat. "So, this is what you've reduced yourself to? A whore than? Working in the Opera House along side your lover? Not even a half a year after our split."

"You didn't wait a week before you jumped into that boat." She said angrily. His sudden wealth he had acquired through a dead relative had separated them more than anything else. She had been furious that he had so suddenly picked up that money after convincing her they would have no money to rely on, except that which he made. Now he was wealthy enough to make gossip papers and own half of an Opera House.

"I don't understand you Delphine? I thought I taught you what good women were supposed to act like. Than I find you right back here? Did he tell you he wouldn't make you give up music? Did he tell you that is what connects you two? Don't make me laugh. He will hardly stand by and watch you gain your musical status back while he falls from grace."

Delphine rose from her seat not sure why she was carrying on this false idea that was brewing in his head. "He would never make me give up my music! He understands it!" She shouted. "You never did."

He rolled his eyes. "When he gets you with child he'll be gone faster than you can blink. Than you'll see how foolish you were to believe him." He warned.

Delphine had reached her breaking part. "Oh, you mean like you did!" She shouted. "I am sure you would have come running to help me. You would have left me in front of that horrid clinic while you and Nicole danced away with hideous gold bands on your fingers! You're both horrid, horrid simpletons and I hate you!" She screamed and with that she flew from the auditorium. She did not no where she was going. The Opera House was becoming suffocating again. Breathing was becoming hard. She raced towards the rooftop, the only place she knew she could breath in freedom.

---

When she reached the rooftop she could have sworn she heard quiet footsteps behind her. If Robert had followed her she would kill him. She couldn't face seeing him after her confession. She threw the door to the rooftop open and she fell onto the ground. The sunlight bathed around her. The birds chirped and a small breeze flew around her head.

This happy scene went unnoticed by her. Still laying on the ground, she began to sob. The tears she had kept welled up inside for what seemed like ever finally came out. They drenched her face, fell down her cheeks.

She cried out, as if in pain. A hand touched her shoulder. She looked up to see the Phantom kneeling next to her. Without thinking she pulled away from him. "Go away!" She shouted. "You don't need to see me like this." She was humiliated enough as it was.

She tried to stop the tears from flowing. They wouldn't. The Phantom moved closer to her and pulled her into his arms. She did not struggle. It felt good to know someone was willing to comfort her, not matter who it was. "Why? Why did he have to be here?"

"Shh." He said to her. She let the sobs rack her body as she let out all of the hurt she had kept inside. After her cries had subsided she looked up at him. He had rested his chin on her head and was staring out at the city.

"Thank you." She said. "No one has ever helped me more."

He looked away from her with an embarrassed look on his face. "Sometimes, you just need to cry." He said.

"I thought I already told you that I never cry." She said with a small smile.

He nodded his head and let his arms fall away from her. He stood and held out his hand. She took it and he pulled her from the ground. He brought her to a statue of a horse and sat her at the base. He went and closed the door to the rooftop before joining her. "I think you had better start at the beginning." He said as he lowered himself next to her.

She nodded her head and took a deep breath.

---

**Erik**

He had no idea what pain she had been holding in. He did not know for sure if she had told him everything, but it felt like she held nothing back. She had told him about how he had said she should give up her music. How his sudden inheritance had split them apart. How she had found herself pregnant and alone, standing before the harlot's special clinic.

He had watched her grow from angry to sad and back to angry. He had watched her face suddenly light up with emotion. He was beginning to see why people like having friends. She seemed to trust him, despite the fact that she didn't even know his name.

As her story ended the sun had moved in the sky a considerable amount. "How long have we been up here?" She asked. He shook his head. She sighed. "I should probably go. I still have to get my violin and take it home. My father wanted me home early so that we could go to Christine's-" She stopped so abruptly that he had hardly heard what she had said. Yet he heard it. She stared at him, as if expecting him to explode.

"Than my story is for another night." He said as he stood. His heart had begun to ache at the mention of Christine, but he didn't want to go into that with her. She might trust him and share her life with him, but his life was a solitary man's life and he preferred to keep some things to himself.

As he helped her to her feet she hugged him. "Thank you." She said.

"Delphine," He said. "you can't keep things like that inside without getting hurt."

"You're one to talk." She smiled. Her smile fell almost as fast as it had risen. "You said my name."

He looked taken back. Had he said her name? He had not meant to.

"Now I feel ridiculous. I don't even know you're name and you're already using mine." She said. He knew where she was going with that.

"Erik." He said.

"Erik." She repeated. Testing it out. She walked towards the door. "Goodnight Erik. Till tomorrow." Than she disappeared beyond his sight.

---

**Author's Note: **Can anyone feel the feelings growing between these two? What a lovely friendship they have. A bit one-sided but Erik can't hold out forever, right?

Until next time.


	5. Chapter 5 L'Epoque's Little Operetta

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of Gaston Leroux's creations. I only own Delphine Aubade and the few other characters that I have come up with, such as Robert Lennings.

_**Chapter Five- L'Epoque's Little Operetta**_

**Delphine**

As she entered the house the familiar sounds of her father and brother bickering reached her ears. It usually sounded much more pleasant than it did now. They sounded as if they were having a major row. Not something about who got the last piece of cake.

Since she had learned Erik's name a week ago she had felt that she could talk to him much more openly. She had visited him everyday this week. She knew that he was not used to such company, it showed in the way he was often at a loss for words. She knew better than to leave him in solitude though. While he might try and draw away from her she knew that he liked her company too.

They had a bond, a strange bond, but a bond none the less. It connected them through their pain. She knew that they had sadness in a different way. His might be more painful than hers. She had often seen the way he reacted to news of Christine. She often tried to keep her out of their conversations, but when she had to leave him it was more likely to see Christine, Raoul, and Henri.

Today they had been sitting next to the organ. He had showed her his opera. Don Juan Triumphant. It looked like he had spent his whole life on it. "How did you come up with it?"

He didn't answer her at first. "I'm not sure."

"Is it about you?" She asked. He didn't reply. She reached for his hand. "Why do you hide yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"You live down here, alone. You wear that mask…" She said as she trailed off. She had only asked about his mask once. She had quickly learned that was as sour a point with him as was Christine. "Even these gloves hide you." Without thinking she pulled the glove off of his hand. "You are human you know. You shouldn't have to hide. Least of all your touch. There is no harm in touch."

"You do not know that." He said as he watched her hold his hand.

"Don't you miss the feel of something under you fingers? Don't you miss the feel of the organ keys?" She asked.

He shook his head. "There is no need to feel that. Flesh is the most intoxicating feeling, but that I must deny myself of."

"Why?"

"There is not a soul in the world who would want my touch."

Delphine rolled her eyes. "Deprivation…Here." She said as she brought his hand to her face. "I am not scared of your touch." She saw his eyes light up. She smiled. She had brought a light to his eyes.

That had been her triumph of the night. She knew that it was hard to bring light to the solitary, sad eyes of Erik. She knew that Christine had probably been the only other one to achieve such a thing.

Now as she removed her own gloves from her hands, she wondered how her family could be fighting on a night like tonight.

She entered the dining room. Her father and brother immediately stopped and looked at her. "What is all this about?" She asked with a smile. "I had thought that I would find you two doing anything but fighting. What are you fighting over?"

They both looked down at their feet. "Delphi…" Her brother said. She looked at his face. The humiliation was ripe on his face.

"Antoine, what is wrong? You look like you have been dealt a blow. Did someone challenge you again?" She tried to laugh but nothing would come out. She suddenly felt very uneasy.

Her father looked up at her. His expression was just as pained as Erik's had been earlier that night. "Delphi, what have you done?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How could you not know?" Antoine said. "Have you not been at the Opera House all day?"

"Yes, but what does that matter?"

Antoine shook his head. "You were not there."

"Of course I was." She said without fear of lying.

"I went there, to bring you home. I thought you would be embarrassed. They said you had never shown up."

She had gotten there early and went straight to Erik's lair. Had she really spent the whole day there? Of course she had. She had not dared find an excuse to leave him. In the end, he had been the one to suggest she go. "I…I was there." She said.

"You…lie." Antoine said. "Who is this new one?"

"What?"

"You think neither of us noticed the ring on your finger?" Her father said. She found herself twisting it on her finger. Why had she not taken it off yet? It was causing her nothing but trouble. Even Erik had observed it. He had said nothing. Only looked at it for what felt like hours.

"This? You can ask Christine. Henri found it in the Opera House. He gave it to me and Christine told me to keep it safe."

They gave her a skeptical look. "Delphi, everyone knows."

"Knows what?" She asked, her voice raising. What were they keeping from her. Antoine bent down and picked up the most recent edition of L'Epoque. He thrust it at her with such force that she stumbled back.

She took it from him and looked at the page. She could not see anything at first. She did not want to see anything. Anything about her in L'Epoque would not be good news. She didn't want her mind clear and find something about her connection to another man. Especially if that mad turned out to be Erik. She was terrified that he would be found out. She was terrified that he would be captured and thrown into some damp prison were she would never see him again.

Her other friends would never be able to understand her the way Erik did. She would do anything to keep him from getting hurt. She didn't know how it had happened, but she had come to realize that Erik was her best friend.

Numerous times she had been tempted to ask Christine more about him. He wouldn't tell her anything to personal. He was still a man wrapped in an enigma. Asking Christine, though, would mean her getting suspicious.

She didn't want anyone in Paris to find out that she was keeping him safe. It would completely defeat the purpose of protecting him. If L'Epoque had come up with some story about how she had brought in his letter…that would be horrible. Even more so if everyone thought she was harboring such a 'monster', as they undoubtedly saw him.

She didn't know what she was supposed to be looking at so she looked up to see the anticipation on her brother's face. "What exactly am I looking at?" She asked.

He snatched the paper from her and pointed at an article. It was a decent length. She leaned forward to read it. The title said in a big bold print, **The Impressions of one, Delphine Aubade.**

As she read on her face grew red. The article was an in-depth report on her argument with Robert. It stated how she had seemed consumed with shock and sadness at first seeing him. How she had tried to protect her mysterious lover who had been in the catwalks. How she had screamed her confession for all in the auditorium to hear.

She found it hard to believe that anyone in the Opera House would be so against her to report the whole story. There must have been a reporter. She struggled to keep her face from turning any redder. "Well?" Antoine asked.

"I…I…"

"Delphi," Her father said with a sad tone. "how could you? Really, not even after proper mourning time you have gotten a lover. You accuse Robert of that misdeed-"

"Which did lead you across the river." Antoine interjected.

"When," Her father said, as if to subdue her brother's anger from raining down on her. "you know that your new lover could have been the cause."

"There is no new lover!" Delphine shouted.

"Than where were you today?" Antoine said as he pushed his father's words aside. "Who were you spending all that time with, if not with him?"

Delphine felt the fear building in her heart. "I already told you, I was at the Opera House."

"Than you must have been with him." Antoine said. "If he's a singer, you must have been in his dressing room." He accused.

"He's not a singer…" She said. Suddenly realizing what she had said she furiously shook her head. "There is no man."

"Don't lie, Delphine." Antoine shouted. He seemed almost pained that he had defended her against Mariana Hefslot. He seemed to actually believe that she had given herself to another. That she was that horrible to give herself so freely.

"Are you implying that I am some call girl for some rich, arrogant singer? Are you implying that I would stoop that low?"

"You can't hide him forever!" Antoine shouted. This thought hit her in another way. Truly, she couldn't hide Erik forever. Look what she had gotten herself into already. "I'll find him. And when I do, trust me dear sister, there will be hell to pay."

Delphine felt like screaming, but what came out of her mouth was much less desirable. "You touch so much as one hair on his head and I shall make you pay." She said before she could stop herself. She watched as his eyes grew wide. Terrified she whirled around and flew from the room before another word could be hurled at her. Yanking her cloak off of the chair placed before the door, she threw it about her and descended into the night.

---

She wasn't sure where she was going. She knew that she was headed toward Christine's house. Why she was going there, she did not know. Her heart had began to beat furiously as she had said that to her brother. He had looked like she had thrust a knife into his side. She had no idea where that threat had come from.

The thought of her brother going after the man she was trying to protect made her nervous. The thought of what he could do to a poor, broken man like Erik made her frightened. She knew that Erik harbored great strength, but the chance of his using it was slim. His letter to the people of Paris had made that clear. What would she do if Antoine did find him out?

He would not hesitate to let those horrible thoughts step in his mind. She could see what he would do to Erik. Her brother was very protective over her. When Robert had run off with Nicole, it had taken her father, Raoul, and two police men to get him away from Robert.

She knew that Antoine had honestly believed her when she had said she did not go to that clinic. Now he knew the truth. Straight from her mouth, but not to his ear. He would be humiliated and hurt. The idea of her getting herself into the same situation probably seemed beyond him.

When Antoine had told her that she couldn't hide him forever the thought had ripped her heart to shreds. It was the truth. She could not hide Erik forever. She could not protect him forever. She had been in contact with him for a little more than a month and look what had happened. She knew that she would have to distance herself from him. She knew that once she was with Erik, in his world, she lost all track of time. If she wasn't careful things could go horribly wrong.

As she stopped in front of the de Chagny house, her mind raced. Why was she there? Did she really expect them to take her in without telling her family where she was. As she went to the door, her mind began to twirl. She would tell them she was leaving Paris. She would not tell them where she was going, she didn't know herself. What she did know was that she couldn't stay in Paris. She had become to attached to Erik and it was to dangerous. She did not know until Antoine had said what he would do to Erik, what she herself would do for him.

She would rather send sadness upon herself than see Erik found out. She knew that her life was to much for the secluded man anyway. She had no intention of letting him suffer along side her.

---

Christine and Raoul brought her into their den. "What is going on?" Christine asked as she took in Delphine's terrified face.

"It's to much to explain. Have you read L'Epoque?"

Raoul slowly nodded his head. "I can assure you that neither of us believe it." He said with a reassuring smile.

"Well you should." She said. "Someone was at the Opera Populaire when we fought. Someone heard my…confession."

"Than…who is the new man?" Christine asked curiously.

"That is were it gets complicated."

"Can you try and explain it?" Raoul asked.

Delphine shrugged. "I can try, but I guarantee nothing." She paused to see their reactions before going on. "There is a man, but not in the way L'Epoque depicted it. He is more like a very dear friend. I cannot let any harm come to him. He is a very…broken man. It would, more likely, finish him." She said. "That is why I am here."

Christine took her hand. "This man…if he cares about you he would distance himself to save you the pain."

"No, he does not know of anything happening outside of the Opera House." She said. "He thrives there. His life is there. He pays little attention to such trivial things as gossip." She added quickly.

Christine's face went white. "Why are you here, Delphine?"  
"I am leaving Paris. I could not stand to see Erik hurt." She said before she knew it. There seemed to be nothing registered on Christine's face.

"Erik? That is his name?" Raoul asked with innocence. Delphine nodded. "You must love him, if you are willing to give up your life to protect him."

"I…I do. He is very likely my best friend. He is the only one who can understand me without my having said a word." She tried to explain. The couple nodded knowingly. "I wanted you to know. You can tell my father if you must."

"Where will you go?" Christine asked.

"I don't know." Delphine admitted. "I just can't stay here and put him in jeopardy." She stood at that and looked to her friends. "I will write you as soon as I know where I am." She moved toward the door, but stopped and turned around. "I am trusting you to protect Erik's name. You are the only ones who know his true identity. If you tell anyone, than my efforts will have been in vain." She said. With that she hurried from their house before they could question her further.

---

She had one more stop to make before she left Paris. The Opera Populaire. She had to take her violin with her. She could not leave it behind. As a gift from her mother, as all she had left to remember her by, she would not leave it behind.

By the time she had reached the Opera, she had convinced herself that she was not going just to try and see one more glimpse of Erik. She did not want to have to say goodbye, but one final glimpse of him would have made her efforts worth the try.

She crept into the darkened theater, holding her skirts above her ankles so they wouldn't swish. As she made her way to the pit, she felt a sudden sorrow overtake her heart. What was she doing? Running away from her problems, something she had never wanted to do. She slid into her familiar seat and felt around for her violin. With a sudden terror that gripped her, she realized that it was gone!

She felt panic rise in her as she crouched and searched under the surrounding seats. Just when she was about to give up hope a voice called to her through the darkness. "Delphine, are you looking for this?" She turned to see Erik standing in a dim light. In his hands was her violin.

"What are you doing with that?" She asked. He did not answer, he started to play a song. A haunting rendition of The Resurrection of Lazarus. The song left tears in her eyes. "Why do you do this to me?" She pleaded. He stopped immediately.

"Delphine, what is wrong?" He asked.

"It does not matter." She said as she sucked in her sadness. "Please give me my violin and let me be."

He looked at her with a startled expression. "Did I do something to upset you?" Delphine shook her head.

"Erik…I need to leave."

"You have only just arrived." He said with concern. She knew she was acting strange but she couldn't bring herself to explain why. She left him in confusion.

"Just please let me go without an argument."

"I-"

"No, I have to leave Paris and I cannot do so without my violin. Please give it to me."

He held it out to her, trying to bring her close to him. Sighing, she scrambled to the stage and made her way to him. She tried to take it from him but he held it just out of her reach. "Delphine, you cannot just leave me without an explanation."

"Erik," She began. "you are my friend." That was all she said. The tears were threatening to stream down her face. Hating herself, she turned away from him to wipe them away with fury.

"Delphine, my darling, what is happening to you?" He asked as he stepped behind her. In a sudden movement she had thrown herself into him and clung to him as if he would save her from the drowning feeling she was experiencing. She looked up at him and saw the shock and concern in his eyes. That made her tears fall.

---

**Erik**

As Delphine cried into his chest he wrapped his arms around her. The violin was an obstacle, but he got around it well enough. When she looked at him a third time she seemed to hold herself in check. She gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry Erik." She said.

"For what?"

"For putting you through that."

He gave her a confused look. "I am not sure I understand."

"I have to leave Paris." She said. "My reputation is ruined as it is." She said as though this made perfect sense. He tilted his head to try and see if a different angle gave some new meaning to her. She sighed and went to the edge of the stage where she dropped down and sat with her legs swinging over the side. He followed her and sat down beside her. "That stupid L'Epoque, it was there when I fought with Robert. It heard everything."

"What is everything?" He asked not sure he wanted to hear. He had heard enough come from her mouth that made her life seem almost as bad as his. This poor girl couldn't stand much more pain.

"What I already told you. About the clinic. And than…" He watched her twist the engagement ring on her finger nervously. That was his, or rather Christine's, engagement ring. He had not had the heart to tell her that she had been wearing a monster's ring. A ring stolen from her friend. A ring used in his tragic play. He nodded, telling her she could go on. "He had accused me of having another lover, because of this ring." She said. "I don't know why but I didn't deny it."

"Do you?" He found himself asking. She threw her head back and laughed.

"No, of course not." She said. "I didn't deny it though. They must have had someone here." She seemed to drift away for a moment. "When I got home tonight, my brother and father were fighting. It was about me. I was just so embarrassed that someone else had heard the conversation. Than, Antoine had threatened to find out who I was spending so much time with while I was here. I just can't let him find you. Antoine is a very violent man when he wants to be."

Erik, who had set down the violin, stood so abruptly that it almost made Delphine sway away from him. He began to stride toward the center of the stage. "I can defend myself." He said.

She jumped to her feet and followed him. "I would rather you not have to." She said quietly.

"Why? Are you afraid that I would bring down my anger on the people of Paris?" He shouted. "Are you afraid the monster of the Opera Populaire would kill again?" The thought that this was why she was leaving made him sick. If it was his past that had thrust a wedge between their friendship than he deserved to have no friends. He looked to her. She had been by his side while he had been shouting. "Delphine…"

"Erik, I am not leaving because I am scared of what you will do. I am leaving because I do not…want to see you captured. I do not want to see you hurt because I was being selfish." She said. Her eyes seemed to shimmer with tears. He wished she wouldn't cry again. It was hard for him to see her cry. When a woman who rarely cried did cry, there was little anyone could do to help her. This thought flew through his mind. She was about to cry, he could sense it. "I do not want to leave…you." She said almost at a whisper.

"Than don't." Erik said as he held out his hand to her. "We'll just have to spend less time together." He said. She gave him her hand but her face showed doubt.

"How?"

"I'll just have to tell you when it's time for you to go when I know it." He said. He had known when she needed to leave every single day they spent together but he had been resistant in telling her. He feared her company, but also loved it. She often made him forget things about himself that he thought were planted firmly in his mind. The other day he had forgotten that he wore the mask until she had asked about it. Even the thought of Christine was becoming more bearable.

She let him draw her into his arms and they swayed to an invisible music. As they clung to each other, wanting never to let the other go he realized that she had become his best friend. He did not know how much longer it would last but he was determined to see it through to the end. He was so absorbed in these thoughts that he didn't see the pale face looking down at them from the catwalk.

---

**Delphine**

She was the first to draw away. The sound of his heart beating in her ears made her realize that her own heart was pounding faster than it ever had. With an embarrassed look, she stared into his eyes. He seemed determined and ready for what would come. She sighed as she nestled back into his arms. The feel of his breath on her head, the aroma of candles and water filled her nose. She could feel his own skin on hers.

It sent her mind spinning. The firmness of his strong body under hers made her shiver. Why was she suddenly feeling this way? As she became aware of this new sensation, she was unaware of his own contemplation. "Where will you go?" He asked.

"Back home, I guess. I have no choice, do I?" She looked to him. Hoping he would say what she wanted him to say. He shook his head. Her heart fell to her feet.

"No, I guess not." He fell silent for a moment and than a light entered his eyes. "Could you not stay with Christine?"

"What?" She asked with surprise. The thought of suddenly staying with Christine made her fume. The thought of him suggesting it made her feel like weeping.

"She is your friend, surely she would let you stay with her and…Raoul." He added as if it pained him to. She looked at him with a skeptical eye. "I only want you to have time without prying eyes. They should respect your privacy." He said. She nodded her head slowly.

"You want me to stay with them?" She said, not trusting herself to say Christine's name. He nodded. "Than I will." She looked about her with a sudden realization. "It is late. If I want to catch them awake I should go now." He nodded again. "Erik…thank you." She said as she brought a hand to his face. She kissed his cheek and let her other hand glide across the mask. She knew that if her curiosity got the better of her there would not be a happy ending. She let her hands fall down as she looked to her violin. "Will you put it away for me?" She asked.

"Of course." He said quietly. She smiled at him and pulled away.

"I will see you tomorrow than?" She asked as she moved off of the stage.

"Yes." He said. She turned and left him standing on the stage.

---

As she lay in the guest bedroom in the de Chagny manor she let her mind wander. It fell on Erik, as it had all night. She was greatly confused. Why had her sudden friendly feelings towards Erik turned to something more? She had know what she felt when she was standing in his arms. She had loved before so she knew what to expect. She knew the feelings of love she had towards Erik. Why though?

She had tried to fight these feelings back. He was still in love with Christine. There was no hope in him loving her back. Besides there was so little she knew about him. She knew he had traveled for a while. She knew his connection to Madame Giry. She knew the outline to his one-sided romance with Christine. Aside from that she knew nothing. She did not know his origin. She did not know why he had loved Christine.

What pained her most was that he had never shown any interest in sharing those stories with her. She had poured her whole life into his hands and he had taken it without a question. He had never given her anything in return though.

She would have asked Christine what one was supposed to do when they loved someone who loved another. The idea flew from her mind quicker than it had entered. How could she ask Christine when she was the other one?

She knew that she would not be able to stand being around him without letting her love show. She knew she did not have that ability. She had barely been able to do so with Robert, the feelings she felt for Erik were much larger than any she had had for Robert.

"What does one do when they love a Phantom?" She asked herself. She began to laugh and before she knew it she was asleep.

---

**Author's Note: **Another chapter done. I hope you liked this one. Delphine is really getting hard to write down. She keeps growing so quickly as a character that I am not sure I can keep up with her. Her sudden realization of her love for Erik came at an inopportune moment, which I did on purpose. Just you wait until the next chapter though. Thank you to those who have reviewed.

Until next time.


	6. Chapter 6 Delphi's Performance

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the creations of Gaston Leroux or ALW. I only own the plot to this story, and my favorite original character, Delphine Aubade. My other characters, which I have created, I could really be indifferent to. Just for the record.

_**Chapter Six- Delphi's Performance **_

**Erik**

He found himself looking forward to Delphine's visit. She had started coming to his underground prison less and less since that night. Since she had tried to leave Paris. He had started to miss her company. After two weeks of spending so much time together it felt strange to suddenly be alone for long periods of time. He didn't even know what he was supposed to do with himself. All week he had been trying to remember what he had done before his friend had so kindly broken his solitude.

He watched her from the catwalk now, he knew she would go to the roof on her lunch break. That was what they had agreed to. She had been reluctant to go below ground level. He suspected that she felt lost in the darkness. She was talking with Therese who was sitting on the edge of the stage, much like Delphine had that night that he had realized that he wouldn't give her up.

She had acted like she wouldn't give him up either, but she had been so distant. He hoped he hadn't scared her away. It would be a cruel ending. After she had done so much to assure him that she was not frightened. She welcomed the touch of his skin on hers, the way he talked to her. She welcomed him as he was. She had never expected anymore of him than he had of her. He did not have to compromise himself to please her.

He watched her smile creep across her face and his heart jumped into his throat. Why had he never realized that her smile was breathtaking? He smiled to himself as he thought of her laughing in the sunlight, up above the Opera House. When he saw La Fuevre approach Delphine with Lennings in tow he became suspicious. What did they want of her. She froze, her eyes wide with fear. He could sense her skin jump as Lennings moved closer to her than he had needed to.

A growl started in his throat. How dare that man make her so uncomfortable. He was to far up to hear what they were saying to her but he knew that it frightened her. Her face had lost color as she shook her head in disbelief. She stood and followed La Fuevre to the maestro. That was all he was willing to see. He didn't like to see her in a panic. It was so unlike her. She tried her hardest to stay calm and steady. Seeing her act like this made him uneasy.

---

He found himself under the trapdoor on the stage. He didn't know why he had moved closer to her but he hoped she could sense him. Maybe he could give her strength in whatever obstacle stood in her way.

As he settled himself in to listen to rehearsal until lunch, he heard a sound he had never heard before. It was a voice. A singing voice that pierced through the air with sharp precision. The voice was that of an angel. Where had they found such a voice? Would they replace those horrible screeching divas with this divine voice?

He would ask Delphine who she was. He knew he wouldn't be able to resist. Any angel that sung like that deserved to have a name.

---

**Delphine**

Delphine sat next to Erik on the roof. Her food was spread out before her. She knew that once she had finished eating she would have to leave his company. She always tried to eat as slowly as possible. That way she could be near him a little longer.

"Delphine, did they find a new singer?" He asked before she could even get a bite of food in her mouth. She looked at him as if he were a stranger. "I heard the most divine voice, it was beautiful."

Delphine nodded her head as she popped a piece of bread into her mouth. She chewed on it, not wanting to finish it. He had never heard her sing. She couldn't believe it. He thought her voice was divine. She had been the only one singing that day. There was no chance it was anyone but her. La Fuevre had told her that the leading prima donna had fallen ill. They needed her to sing the part. She had been startled that they had chosen her over someone, anyone, else.

She had decided to try it though. She had sung the part with all the emotion she could conjure. The people in the theater had stopped and looked at her as if they had never seen her before. She had not expected to hear the same from Erik. "Does she look like she sounds?" He asked absentmindedly. Delphine froze. He was asking her about how other women looked? He wanted to know how beautiful other women were? She had thought he would have caught on sooner than that.

All the affection she had lavished on Erik the past week should have showed him her feelings. Well she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was the one singing. Not now, not ever if she could help it. "She is not all that beautiful." She said sternly as she stared at her food. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

"Oh, I meant to ask you…I saw La Fuevre talking to you earlier. You looked shocked. What happened?"

"Oh that." She said as she looked away from him. "He said I would not be holding my current job much longer." She said. Truthfully, he had said he wanted her to become a singer but she would rather Erik think she was being fired. As it turned out, that is what popped into his mind.

"They are going to fire you?" He asked with astonishment.

Delphine shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me." She said.

"How will you explain coming here though?" He asked with concern. "I would miss your company if you just stopped coming."

"I could always become a seamstress for the divine voice." She said with anger. "I am sure you could meet her than." She was surprised by the bitterness in her own voice. Especially since she knew that she was the divine voice.

Erik grasped her arm. "Delphine, are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?" She asked.

"That I think there is someone who is equal of your musical genius in the Opera House?" He said unsure of himself.

She tried to force a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous." She said.

"That reminds me." He said. He pulled out a folder that looked familiar to her. He handed it to her.

"My opera." She said as she hugged it to her chest.

"I did a song or two. To make up for lost time." He said. She couldn't help but give him a small smile. "I hope it stays true to the story." He said.

She looked at it. He had finished the song she had started. It was now titled. Marguerite's Sonata. "It's beautiful." She said. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" She asked.

"What?" He asked, startled.

"You do things for me that no one has ever done. You understand me more than I do. How did I come by you? Why do I deserve you?"

He smiled at her. "I think you have it the wrong way around, Delphine." He said. "I have never felt this happy in my life. I thought that my feelings for Christine were the strongest, a one-sided love. A mutual friendship certainly triumphs over that." He said. "I cannot remember the last time I smiled." He said.

"Erik…" She said. She wanted to tell him so bad. The thoughts were on the tip of her tongue. All she had to say was _I love you._ As simple as that, something held her back though. She didn't know what it was. All she knew was that she should probably listen to it.

The door to the rooftop opened and Madame Giry appeared. They had employed her services to get Delphine when she strayed past her allotted time. "Mademoiselle, Monsieur, I am afraid you must go now." She said.

Delphine stood. "Erik…" She said again. He stood too. She wanted to throw herself into him. "I…I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked. He nodded at her.

---

**Erik**

Erik found himself wishing she would finish her sentences. She always trailed off as if she didn't know if she should say what she wanted to. This woman certainly had her quirks. He walked to his organ, down below the Opera Populaire. Woman? When had he started to see her as a woman?

The thought startled him. She had not grown that much in his short time in her company. The change must be in him, than. She certainly had seemed more like a woman to him. She didn't seem the same person he had met. How had she changed so much in so short a time, even if just to his eye.

The thought that maybe he saw a change in her because of his own feelings for her made him start. He knew he couldn't let himself even think those thoughts, not about Delphine. She was no innocent, but he had promised her friendship. Anything he desired beyond that would have to remain just that, a desire.

Even better, he could tell himself there was nothing there. He had just seen her as a woman after she had told him of her lost innocence. He prayed that was it. He couldn't allow himself to believe he had fallen into the trap another woman had set for him.

---

That night, the performance was to be a major one. He knew that if he was in attendance than he could see the divine voice. How he wanted to see that voice coming from the person who owned it. Such a natural voice seemed to make him curious. How had a woman gained such a sound?

He decided he best watch the show from the catwalk. It would be better if no one had a chance to see him. Besides from there he could view the audience. He wanted to see if Delphine's family was in attendance as well. She had since moved back in with them, but she spoke of them as if they were still estranged. He knew it pained her to have to sit in silence in the morning.

Her brother had moved out when she came home. He had not spoken a word to her. She had confided this with sorrowful eyes. As he stood on the catwalk he felt his heart drop. Delphine was missing from the pit orchestra. Surely they had not gotten rid of her before the big performance. His eyes strayed to Lennings box, unconsciously. He was gone too. His new wife looked about her with confusion. Apparently, her husband's absence was beyond her too. He swore that if they were together he would kill that man.

He knew that Delphine would probably bend to his will. She had shown every sign of still loving him. Still loving him. The thought brought pain to him. _It is not because I do._ He told himself firmly. _It is because I do not want to see her get hurt again._ Even his reasoning with himself fell on a deaf ear.

He felt the need to go and investigate but he contained himself. He would always talk to her later. If this divine voice sung only once than he would never have another chance to see her. Besides, he was terrified of the way he would react if her found them together.

As the lights dimmed he grew tense. Something was not right. There was a familiar presence that he felt just below him. He turned his head down to see who it was. His heart began to beat wildly. Delphine was on the stage. He had no idea that she had been asked to fill in for another chorus girl. There were only two girls in this first part. A chorus girl and the lead. It was hard to tell them apart. The girl standing next to her was Therese.

What was going on? Which one of them had the divine voice? He held his breath as the music started. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see what he already feared. The voice flew to him, it reached past his brain and into his soul. His eyes flew open. He found himself looking down on Delphine.

When had she trained her voice? The first time he had heard her she had sounded nothing like this. Why had she not sung for him before? He leaned forward as if willing it to be false. When had she become such an angel. As she sang her eyes wandered to the empty box five. Was she singing for him?

His heart flew into unregistered panic. He rushed down to his empty box.

---

He didn't know why he had expected it to be different in the box. It wasn't. As he stared at Delphine his soul seemed to fly above him. He couldn't pull his eyes away from her. This woman had captivated his attention. She had pulled him to his knees and left him sobbing for it to end. That is what his soul seemed to be doing now.

He was terrified by this familiar feeling in his heart. The same feeling he had kept for Christine. Delphine's voice became more and more pristine, more and more angelic as she went on. He watched as the world flashed around before him. He saw the destruction of Troy, he saw the beginning of the world. How could this one woman, he had thought he knew, harbor such power in her breast? How could she stop his heart and yet send it flying at the same time? How had he never noticed it before?

He was so focused on her that he had not paid attention to those in the boxes around him. Sitting in the box next to his was Christine de Chagny, Raoul had stayed home that night. She watched the Phantom of her past stare at her friend and she grew terrified. He did not see that Delphine's brother was watching the strange masked man stare so intently at his sister. He did not see the pale face of Robert Lennings studying the same woman.

Erik felt that if her song did not end soon he would die. It was too beautiful for him to hear. He would go to Delphine, whatever the consequences, and tell her what was in his heart. Even if she still loved that fool of an owner. He would have to tell her. He could not see himself being able to stand being around her after this. If she would not be his, than their friendship was over.

---

**Delphine**

Delphine's dressing room was the same that Christine had once been in. She smiled as the flowers kept flowing in. So this was what it felt like to be admired. She had to admit that she liked.

Christine was at her side as soon as the performance was over. "Delphine, you were perfect. Where have you been hiding that voice?" She asked.

"In my heart." Delphine said.

"How did you unleash it?" Christine asked.

"I thought of the man I love."

"Erik?" She questioned. A smile flew across Delphine's face even though she struggled to smoother it. "I think I should warn you than…you know of the Phantom?" Delphine felt her heart fall, whatever she was about to say was not good. "I had thought he was gone, but I was wrong. He was there tonight. I saw the way he looked at you. If you want to protect this Erik…do it now."

"Christine…" Delphine said. She was not sure if she should tell her what she knew. She wondered if she should tell her who Erik really was.

A door opened but it was not the door that it should have been open. The mirror door opened and Erik stepped through. Christine was at the door before she could stop herself. She locked the door and picked up a vase to defend herself with. "Christine-" Erik started with surprise. Delphine had the feeling that he had other things on his mind than Christine. As if the sound of his voice was the signal to defend herself she hurled the vase at Erik.

Delphine let out a scream, though she knew she didn't have to worry. Erik was fast. He ducked it with seconds to spare. Christine gave Delphine a surprised stare. "Delphine?"

Delphine ignored Christine and went to Erik. She looked him in the eye. "Did the divine voice please you?" She asked. Erik gave her a sad smile before he swept her up in his arms.

"What is going on here?" Christine demanded.

Delphine didn't dare turn around to face Christine. She also did not want to take her head away from Erik's chest. "Christine…" Delphine said into Erik's body.

"I thought…" Christine began.

"This is Erik." She said.

"No Delphine, you're been horribly lead astray. That is the Phantom."

"He and Erik are one and the same." Delphine said. She nestled into his body, praying he would never stop feeling horrible for what he had done. When he was done feeling guilty he would push her away and think of Christine. She did not want to see the look on Erik's face as he came to realize he was holding the wrong person. So she clung to him and prayed that this moment might drag on forever.

"Delphine Aubade!" Christine shrieked. "You…this is a monster! His soul is the darkest of all creatures!" She could hear the anger in Christine's voice.

She spun around, knocking Erik back. "Have you ever looked into his eye? Have you ever seen him smile? Have you ever heard his laugh embrace you?" Christine looked at a loss for words. "Than you have no right to tell me why I should not, when you don't know why I do." Christine looked at her, not sure of what she should do.

"Christine, can you please give us a moment alone?" Erik asked. Christine shook her head.

"I don't understand." She said. "Delphine…why?"

"Please, Erik and I need to be alone." Delphine said as she held Erik's hand. "We need to be alone." She said again.

Christine sighed as she unlocked the door and went out. The lock clicked again. Delphine smiled, Christine had given them privacy. As she turned back to Erik her heart began to race. Why was there such a sad look on his face? Had she caused such sadness to enter his face again? "Delphine, we need to talk. There is something I need to tell you." Erik said with sorrowful eyes.

---

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading this chapter of The Mistress of Song. I like to know that people still read it (even if reviews are not as numerous as some other stories-not to say that I am encouraging more. I am happy to know people read my work). Thank you to those of you who did review (PhantomLover05). I am grateful for your words of praise.

On a side note…this chapter seemed to happen really fast. I am not even sure I am very proud of this one. I know this story is based over the course of a couple months but it feels to me like everything happening so fast. I, however, do not feel I have the power to stop it(or slow it down). So I apologize if the pace is not to your liking.

Until next time…


	7. Chapter 7 A Lover's Serenade

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything associated with Phantom of the Opera, only my characters and the plot.

_**Chapter Seven- A Lover's Serenade**_

**Delphine**

His sad eyes watched her as she began to run through her mind. Maybe she should have told him of what La Fuevre had said earlier. Should she have been straight forward with him? Than again, he would not have found it plausible, that she had hid such a thing from him. Especially when they shared music.

"Delphine…" Erik said again. He never seemed to get past her name.

Delphine shook her head and looked down at the ground. "Erik, I don't think I want hear what you are going to say?" She said. She was afraid that he would tell her that she had hurt him. That she had showed she did not care enough to tell him.

"You need to hear it though." He said. He fell quiet.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did not tell you." Delphine said with a quaver in hr voice.

"Delphine, you are not to blame. I am afraid I am the one at fault."

She raised her eyes and looked at him with confusion. "Erik? What are you talking about?"

---

**Erik**

He stood before her. She seemed to be pleading with her eyes. She seemed to be begging him to tell her, to explain his strange behavior. She had never seen him like this before. He had made sure of that. He felt a bit defeated. How he had fallen out of love with Christine so fast and into love with Delphine was beyond him. He had not expected to ever have such feelings for his little Delphine.

She was his friend. His only friend in a world where everyone was afraid of his touch. Why had her little bit of affection affected him in such a drastic way?

She was getting nervous. She jumped at every sound that pushed through their barrier of silence. She began fidgeting with her fingers. He wanted to tell her but he didn't know how.

This was much different than with Christine. Delphine was much closer to him than anyone else in the world. How was he going to tell her that he, who had promised her nothing but friendship, had fallen so in love with her before he could stop himself. A thousand different scenarios went through his mind. None of them seemed to fit.

She would not scream and recoil in horror, but she wouldn't love him back either. Would she? _No, _he thought to himself._ She would never find a reason to love someone like me._ He could see her just staring at him, a mask on her face to hide her true emotion. She would slowly pull back from him and he would have to retreat into the darkness, his heart broken again.

He knew this was probably the real reason he was hesitating to tell her. He didn't think his heart could handle it again. He felt that all his emotional strength had been spent on Christine, there was nothing left for Delphine. He hated to admit it but he was fragile. When he told her, his future would lay in her hands. He did not doubt that she would try to be gentle with him but he also did not doubt that she would strip him of his hopes.

"Erik, tell me now!" Her voice was anxious. The poor woman, she seemed to think it was her fault. She was not at fault, he was. He had always been. "What did I do?" She asked, ignoring his earlier confession that she was at no fault.

He wanted desperately to tell her. To fall to his knees and clutch her hands to his cheeks and tell her. He wanted to push away the fears that gripped him, froze him in his spot, and confide in her. He tried to push some noise out of his throat but all that came was more silence.

The claustrophobic silence seized them and he had to turn away from her gaze. She sighed and sat down on the chaise lounge. Closing her eyes, she seemed to calm a bit. He glanced at her, her mind might be becoming more peaceful but her body was still rigid with tension. She looked uncomfortable

He, himself felt out of place. She was making him more nervous by the minute. He knew that he would not be confessing to her tonight. He did not think he could bring himself to after making her wait so long for an answer from him. Besides, all of his determination had vanished almost as quickly as it had come.

There was a knock on the door. "Delphine?" Christine's voice called through the door. "The owners would like to have a word with you. Are you done?" He looked at Delphine. She seemed almost glad for Christine's intrusion. He was as well.

"Yes." She called. As he heard the lock begin to turn he gave her a weak smile.

"Good night, Delphine." He said. With that he fled through the mirror, only stopping to see if he could hear her voice.

---

**Delphine**

She smiled politely as Christine, La Fuevre, and Robert entered the room. "That was superb, my dear child." Said La Fuevre. "I had no idea you could sing so powerfully. It far surpassed anything you had sung before. Like an angel."

"Thank you, monsieur." She said.

"I do say, you need not thank me. I should thank you. I think you have single-handedly brought success to this Opera House. You have earned many admirers. My own nephew told me he had fallen in love with your voice." La Fuevre's voice drifted away.

The thought suddenly occurred to Delphine before she could stop herself. Was that what Erik was there for? Had he wanted to confess his love for her? She shook her head to clear the thoughts. It would do no good for her to think of such things. He still loved Christine. "I find it hard to believe that you will not sing again." Christine's voice said as it drifted through her mind. She looked confused.

"What?"

"Monsieur La Fuevre asked you if you would sing again. You know you cannot refuse the people of Paris and yet you shake your head."

"Oh no, I am sorry. I have something else on my mind."

"What could possibly be on your mind?" La Fuevre asked. "You are victorious over the elusive Phantom of the Opera. You have brought the people of Paris to their knees. Conquered over his image."

Delphine's heart dropped at the mention of Erik, who was alone down in his own world. "She is thinking of her lover, no doubt." Robert's voice penetrated her thoughts of Erik. She could feel the color in her cheeks rising.

She stood abruptly and glared at him. "Why would you suggest such an absurd thing?" She asked.

Robert lowered his head in a semi-respectful nod. "I am merely saying that love is the inspiration for tonight's performance. He should be proud to have inspired such sound from such a throat."

She furrowed her brows, trying to figure out what he was saying. Was he saying that he was sorry? "Thank you?" She said unsure of herself. He smiled at her.

"So where is this lucky man?"

"He was already here." Christine said. Delphine looked at her and she clasped a hand to her mouth. "I mean…he gave her a quick congratulations and had to be on his way, back to Germany." The two men looked at Christine.

"He is German?"

"Y-yes." Christine stammered.

"Enough, there is no interest in my love life." Delphine interjected to spare her friend from faltering any more. She gave the men a warning glance to fend them off and the subject was dropped. Letting the relief wash over her, she let her happiness shine through. "I can assure, monsieur, that I will sing again." La Fuevre smiled at her and nodded.

"Than, as one half of the owners, I thank you." He said his goodbye and left the room.

"I shall agree with my other half." Robert said. He smiled at Delphine and caught her hand. "You were amazing. Such passion…" He said as he brought her hand to his lips. "Until tomorrow." He said as he turned to leave the room.

As the door shut behind him Christine approached Delphine with a menacing glare. "I demand to know everything!" She said.

Delphine pulled away from Christine and let out a laugh. "Whatever is there to know?"

"I was patient, if I had any idea what you had gotten yourself into…how could you…Delphine I thought you knew better." She finished. Christine's face had gone pale and she had started to shake. "What on Earth possessed you to make you love such a…man." She said.

"I don't expect you to understand." Delphine said as she turned away from her friend. "I hardly understand it myself." She let out a sigh and brought a hand to her forehead. "It all started that night after my first performance on stage, do you remember? After you had gone back down to Raoul and Henri?" She said as she pushed her hair out of her face. "It started with that letter, the one I published in L'Epoque. He wanted me to publish it so I did. Than I went back to try and find him. Things just progressed from there. Oh Christine, had you seen the way he bared his soul to me. You would not be able to blame if you had seen what we have shared. He understands me better than I understand myself. I am his only connection, aside from Madame Giry, to the outside world."

"But how…"

"Did I come to love him?" Delphine predicted, she had turned her gaze back on her friend. Christine nodded her head solemnly. "I am not sure. I had tried to leave Paris after L'Epoque had written that filth about me…I hadn't actually told myself that I had loved him before that." She said. "He had become my best friend, the one person I would rather spend all of my time with. Doesn't it only seem natural that I should fall in love with him?" She asked, knowing that her answer would probably tell her differently. _Was there something there before? Have I really loved him for that long?_ She asked herself. She was terrified to think that she had repressed her feelings for Erik for so long without knowledge of it.

"Does he love you?" Christine asked with a fearful tear in her eyes.

Delphine found her heart beginning to race. Her own fear was threatening to surface. What if he had come to her tonight to tell her that he had unconsciously led her on. "Do you think so?" She asked with more anger than she meant to. Christine looked taken back. "You shouldn't have to worry about that because I am sure he doesn't."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because he's still in love with you. How could you possibly think that he would have feelings for me when he still falls apart at the mention of your name?" She was practically shouting now.

"I think-"

"Besides, you know me. I always want what I can't have. Couldn't have Robert. Couldn't have you trust me for a second. My own father thinks I am going after some rich married man! No, what I want is for Erik to just look at me the way he looked at you. For him to love me like I love him. Not some sad friendly relationship." The tears were falling from her eyes now. They rolled down her cheeks.

Christine went to her friend and took her hand. "Delphine, I don't think you realize how much he does love you."

"What?" She asked through her tears. "Are you blind? After what I just did I'm surprised he even came to talk to me."

"What did you do?"

"I didn't tell him I got the lead. I didn't even try to tell him. He was asking me about this divine voice and if the singer was beautiful and I just couldn't tell him. He wouldn't have believed me anyway."

"Delphine, I saw the way he was looking at you tonight. I can't even describe the look on that poor man's face. He is as terrified of his feelings as you are."

Delphine swatted away Christine's hand. "Don't try and make me feel better." She said. "I'm not dumb, you know?"

Christine sighed and walked toward the door. As she pulled it open she looked back at Delphine. "Believe what you will. I know that there is no possible way that he does not love you. I can guarantee you that I was the farthest thing from his mind tonight." With that she shut the door.

Delphine shook her head. Christine was wrong. Erik still loved her. He had to. Every single time Delphine mentioned her name he would start acting abnormal. He had to still be in love with Christine.

The thought of him loving her, over Christine, was to much for her to wish for.

---

Delphine moved gracefully across the catwalk. It swayed gently under her. She could hear the people below her, they were laughing and making jokes. They seemed so absorbed in their own happiness that the awful silence that had fallen on the Opera House had not effected them.

Delphine had tried to sing again. It had not come out the same as it had that night, a week ago. It was still her melodious voice, but something was missing. There was no emotion, it fell flat. Her passion seemed to have been wasted. La Fuevre seemed determined to give her time to recuperate but she doubted that would help.

The past week should have been one of the best of her life. She had been greeted in the streets, it had gotten to the point of annoyance. Her father had finally broken the silence and even her brother had stopped by to say hello to her. Christine had become more quiet around her, but Delphine knew that she would always be there. Robert had stopped his aggressive searches for her 'lover'.

The one thing that she had not expected was Erik. He had not even tried to find her, to speak with her. She had stood in her dressing room for what felt like ever. Standing in front of the mirror, in hopes that he would come through it. She had been tempted numerous times to thrust the door open and flee down into the darkness. Her own humiliation kept her away, though.

As she walked to the end of the catwalk her heart began to race. Had that been a shadow, a rustle of a cloak? The stagehand that appeared before her gave her a concerned look and continued on his way. Sighing she moved away from the catwalk and headed for the auditorium floor.

---

Delphine let out a sigh as the dancers began shoving each other about. The rehearsals had not been going well. Greatly aggravating the owners, the cast seemed to make numerous mistakes. There had been more than one incident in the pit orchestra and Therese, who had lost her voice, had thrown a fit on stage. The end result of that moment of entertainment had been numerous broken props and one angry maestro who had demanded his two weeks vacation.

"Delphine, do you think you can sing the aria?" Robert asked from in front of the pit orchestra.

"What?" She asked startled out of her thoughts.

"The aria?" He tried again.

"Oh yes. Of course." She said. She composed herself as well as she could and waited for her entrance. The violinist began well enough, he had finally conquered the part. After the first four measures though he had completely stopped. The entire cast turned their eyes to him. The man had gone pale. He stood up and rushed out of the room without a word to anyone.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Robert asked with annoyance as he slammed his fist down on the edge of the stage.

Delphine walked toward him and sat beside him. "Go on?" She asked.

"How are we supposed to go on when we have no cast, no musicians, and no one buying tickets?"

"No one is buying tickets?" She asked startled.

Robert shook his head. "The usual loyal customers, other than that we have lost the attention that publicity had given us. Delphine, this might be the end. We started out so good, so good." He said wearily as he continued to shake his head.

"Listen Robert, I know I haven't been up to standard lately but…I'll come through for you and La Fuevre. As for the rest of them, their just distracted."

"Why though?"

Delphine shrugged. "Maybe they need some excitement of their own." She said as she pushed herself back up to her feet. "Have you ever taken them down into the cellars?" She asked with a joking gleam in her eyes. Robert's head tilted to the side, as if he were considering the idea. "I wasn't serious." She said quickly. "Half of them have been down there already."

"Still, you're right. There has got to be something we can do for them."

As if fate would have it, La Fuevre walked out with a letter in his hand. "Robert, I think you had better read this." Robert and Delphine approached him and looked at the scrawled handwriting in red ink. "Can you believe that?"

Delphine turned away to block their view from her tears gathering in her eyes. "I cannot believe he would threaten us if we did not follow his orders." Robert said. "Where did you get this?"

"In my mail, at my home." He turned to Delphine. "My dear child, I won't take you off the program. His threats are idle. Besides, there is no proof this is any real Phantom. It could have been anyone who did not wish to see you sing again."

Delphine nodded her head, but she knew better. What would be Erik's reason for demanding she be taken out of all future performances? Her mind began to race. "May I have a break?" She asked as she pulled at her skirts.

"Why yes, though rehearsal begins in half an hour." La Fuevre said. She went quickly toward her dressing room. Erik would not hide from her any longer. She felt betrayed and hurt. The man she loved so dearly had demanded she be forbidden from being in any performance. He had demanded she be taken away from her passion. The one thing they shared.

As she slipped into her dressing room she searched about for anything she could use to defend herself. Defend herself, that is what she told herself she was doing as she picked up the letter opener and put in her boot to hide it from his view. She would not hurt him, even if she could, but she knew she had to have something to use against him. To make him feel her pain.

---

**Erik**

He was sitting in front of his organ, waiting for some sound to come out. The silence had started to get to him. What he normally did not mind pushed against him like a knife through his flesh. All traces of Delphine had vanished over the course of the week. He had made sure some of it was taken away. Others had fled from him, disappeared without his permission.

The sound of her voice, it was still there but it had already started to fade. Her soft eyes had closed their delicate lids on him. Her gentle touch had left nothing but an imprint on his skin, one that he had trouble telling apart from the others.

After he had left Delphine in her dressing room he had come to his lair and gone into a fit of rage. He couldn't explain it, he had not thought he had that much anger and violence harboring in his heart. The glass he had broken still lay strewn about the floor. The engagement ring that Delphine had taken off while she was cleaning the organ lay where she had left it. He was terrified to touch it, afraid it would scald his skin even through his gloves.

The organ had made no noise for him, it seemed to push him away. The fear that music had started to desert him made him hate himself all the more. He struggled to keep the sobs from racking his body, even now he was visibly taking great effort. Above all of this, he missed Delphine. He wanted to be near her, to hear her, feel her touch on his face, see her happiness radiate off of her. He had not resurfaced at the Opera House. He feared Delphine as much as he had come to love her. He couldn't let her know, he had made up his mind that nothing would become of them. She couldn't let her beauty go to waste on someone like him, he wouldn't allow it.

He stood up from the organ, the bench scratching the ground beneath it. He began to pace, his head was a mess. All of his thoughts were thrown about, not one single coherent thought seemed to make it's way through. Had Delphine done this to him? Had he driven her this mad?

He tried to slow his mind down, keep his thoughts collected. It was of no use. As he stared out at the gate that barred him from the world he saw her. She was moving through the water, the boat lay on his side of the gate. He had not wanted her intrusion. As she came into view he realized that his letter had been received. She looked daggers at him. He stumbled back and turned away from her icy glare.

"Erik!" She shouted with venom in her voice. "Open this gate. Open this gate or so help me God." As if this had been the secret password, the gate sprang into life and rose steadily in front of her. He continued to face away from her, despite the sound of her skirts moving closer and closer. The water was lapping around her. He steadied himself for a blow and held his breath. Her hand came down on his shoulder.

---

**Delphine**

She let her hand fall to his shoulder. It had been much softer than she had meant for it to. She had struggled to keep the anger burning in her heart but she knew that once she saw Erik she would fall apart. He stood facing away from her, as if he was made out of stone. "Erik." She said quietly. "Why would you…"

He pushed her hand off of his shoulder and moved away from her. "You have proven that you had one brief moment of glory, why ruin the chances of the Opera House by demanding to be paid the salary of that which you do not deserve?"  
Her face began to heat up, he had been watching her fumble through the week. "You are a despicable man." She said. "I hate you." She said before she could stop herself. The moment it had passed from her lips she desperately wished she could draw them back in, swallow them and believe it had never happened.

"Than the letter achieved its purpose." He said so quietly she almost lost it among the pressure of the silence.

"Erik, would you rather I hate you?" She asked surprised.

He didn't answer, he didn't turn to her. He remained the same as he had been since she had entered.

"Erik, I care about you. Why would you want me to hate you?" She asked. She moved closer to him. "Why Erik?"

"Delphine." He said quietly. The pain in his voice made tears swell in her eyes. She rushed to him and threw her arms about his waist.

"Erik, I cannot ever hate you. I-"

"Please Delphine, I only want you to be happy." He said. He did not push her away, instead he clasped her hands with his own gloved hands and held them to him. "I want you to be happy." He repeated with effort.

Delphine had let her tears fall on his back. The feel of his gloved hands on hers made her feel more sorrowful than she had the past week. Her sobs echoed his empty domain. "Did I teach you nothing?" She asked as she pulled her hands away from his. He finally turned to her with an empty expression on his face. "There is…" She began to pull at his gloves. As she let them fall to the ground, she brought his hands to her face. "nothing to fear from your touch." She closed her eyes and let the warmth of his skin meet hers. He had started to pull away but she held his hand tightly.

"Delphine…" He said. "Why do you torment me so?"

Her eyes flew open with surprise. "What?"

"I have tried to push you away, spare you the pain, yet you have no fear of me. I will do nothing but hurt you." He said with glistening eyes.

"Erik…what you are doing now, this is hurting me." She said as she brought her own hand to his face. "I cannot stand to be apart from you. Erik, I love you." She watched him through her tears as his own fell from his eyes. He had started to cry. Never before had she been the one to comfort him.

---

**Erik**

He let her hand caress his face, wipe away his tears. Before long, she had nestled in his arms where he kept her tight. She had told him what he had wanted to hear, had been afraid to hope for. He knew he must tell her, after what she had done he must. "Delphine," He started. She looked up at him and his heart set sail. "I…"

"Erik, don't speak. Not right now." She said. He gave her a confused look. Surely, she would want to talk. "Lets sing." He narrowed his eyes, trying to contain his smile. She led him to the organ. "Lets sing your Don Juan Triumphant." She said as she placed her fingers above the keys. He had expected her to start from the beginning, from the very first piece of music. She began to play that familiar tune which had seemed to haunt him for so long. His own Point of No Return, echoed through the cellars. She stopped and looked at him, waiting for him to sing. He could do nothing but stare at her. "_You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish which till now had been silent, silent…" _She began for him. Her voice trailed away, he wanted to continue in the path she had set for him but he was afraid. He was terrified of hoping they could have a chance. She gave him a pleading look.

"_I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge-in your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me…" _ He sang before he could stop himself. She had turned to face him, his heart began to race. They stared at each other, both unsure of what should happen next. Her hand moved back to his face. It moved over his bare flesh and landed on the mask. He drew back. "No." He said.

"Erik…why must you keep yourself from me? Do you not love me?" She asked with a quaver in her voice. He wanted to smile, how could she not know.

"I do love you, Delphine. Which is why I do not wish to let you see me, the real me. I don't want to lose you."

She moved toward him again. "Erik, I have already seen the worst life has to offer, a life without you. I doubt that whatever lies behind that mask will deter me from loving you." He let her fingers wander to his mask. Her soft fingers gently pulled the mask off. Before he could stop himself he had his hand up to block his face from her view. She set the mask aside and pulled at his hand. "Erik."

"Delphine, I love you more than I thought was possible for a man to love. I don't want to lose you." He said as if warning her.

"Than show me your face." She demanded. He shook his head, sadly.

"This face, it is the face of a monster. I know I will lose you when you have seen me." He said as he pulled away from her.

"Erik, I have already told you my love for you. I don't know how much clearer I can be, you will not lose me." He didn't answer her. She bent down and pulled something out of her boot. His heart leapt into his throat. He watched her study the letter opener and press the tip against her finger. She spun it around and pointed it toward herself. "Will this be the way you lose me?" She asked with annoyance.

He moved toward her. "Delphine." He said with a panic.

"I can, you know. It will hurt like hell but…" She moved it closer to her skin. She had to conceal her smile as she pretended to push it into her skin. He flew to her. His hands reaching for her. It was only as he pried the letter opener from her and threw it away that he realized his face was bare. He turned away from her. "Erik!" She said with surprise. "I don't care. Your mere physical appearance…it means little to me. I love you, not for some handsome, dashing man, but for the man who inspired my voice and brought me music. I love you Erik, not the face that you say curses you." She reached for him. "If possible, your face makes me love you more."

He turned his sad eyes on her. "How is that possible?" He asked as he watched her face for any movement that could reveal her lie.

"It makes you imperfect, it makes you human." He gave her a confused look. She sighed and moved toward him. "Before, all I knew was that you were different, much different from any man I have ever known. You seemed perfect, almost inhuman. Beyond my own knowledge, incapable of accepting my love. For what heavenly musician allows the love of a mere mortal. Truly, that is how I felt. That you were some god in disguise. Now, I see you for you. A man, a man who, perhaps, needs me as much as I need him." She had put her head on his chest and seemed content to let her words drift away as she listened to the beating of his heart.

"Than this is…" He looked down at her with a serious expression. "this is real?" She nodded her head and let him wrap his arms around her. "The point of no return." He said quietly.

Delphine realized it was. She could never go back to the person she had been before. The person she had been before Erik, even before Robert. She had changed so much, every action she made changed her. Would she have continued to love Erik three years ago, when she was more like an immature child? Would she have even cared at all?

She had reached the point where she couldn't turn back, even if she wanted to. As she stood there, with Erik's arms around her, she knew that she had changed the course of her life once again. Whatever should happen to them, she would know she had reached the point where she would never give Erik up. Her point of no return.

---

**Author's Note**: Hello, I hope this chapter was worthy of your time. I don't feel to happy about this chapter. It didn't seem to flow right. It was hard to find the right way for Delphine and Erik to finally come together. Thank you to those of you who read it, and those of you who reviewed it. Such as Lady Galriee, if you want to hit Robert than I think I did my job. Thanks to PhantomLover05, as well.

Until next time.


	8. Chapter 8 The Masked Melody

_**Chapter Eight- The Masked Melody**_

**Delphine**

Delphine moved about the Opera House, the darkness consuming her ever move. Had she not known where she was headed, she would have been lost to the empty silence that surrounded her. She quickened her pace, not sure of the time. It was sure to be close to midnight. He would be waiting for her at the mirror.

She stopped as she heard the distinct sound of a door shutting. It was close, off to her right. She turned her head and saw the dim light of a candle, it was moving away from her. Whoever it was, they had not seen her. She quietly continued on her way, stopping once more to find the key to her dressing room. As she fumbled with it the door swung open. The darkness inside was instantly shattered by the flame of a single candle. Erik stood before her with a smile on his face.

She entered the room and let him close the door behind her. As soon as she had removed her traveling cloak, they stood before each other, silently staring at the other. "I'm sorry I'm a bit late." She said quietly as she reached for his hand.

"Nothing to worry about." He mumbled as he relinquished his bare hand. She smiled and began stroking his thumb.

"I have something to tell you." She said as she led him toward the mirror. "I'll only tell you down there, though. I dare not speak of it up here. You never know who could be listening at the door." He nodded and helped her swing the mirror over. She passed through it before him. She had the brief sensation of being the leader, the one who had the control.

As soon as they were sitting in his lair, their quiet, serious faces turned to ones of joy. She smiled at him as he squeezed her hand. "The news?" He asked.

"Annabel, she sent me this." She said as she dug around for the letter. She handed it to him and watched him read it. His eyes grew clouded with uncertainty.

"It is to much to risk." He said as he set it aside.

"No, it's a masked ball. No one would be the wiser." She tried to assure him. As of late, her desire to be out in the open with him had increased. Since he would not go out without his mask and the public might find that odd, she had been forced to remain in the Opera Populaire. The announcement of a masked ball, no matter how ridiculous and childish it sounded, excited her. This was her chance to be with him in the open. To have the world see that she had found the man she loved more than anything.

Her smile fell as he shook his head. "I don't think you understand the consequences of being so rash. I could be found out." He said.

"Hardly anyone cares about the Phantom anymore." She protested. "Besides, no one will know it is you behind that mask."

"If you haven't noticed, I have the ability to attract unwanted attention." He said with a small smile as he seemed to remember how they had started out.

"Oh really now." She said with frustration. "Everyone will be wearing masks, it's not like anyone will be able to point you out. No one is going to say, 'Look there, that's the Phantom of the Opera.'" She said.

"There might be though," He said. "what if the police are there?" He asked. She looked away. She hated talking about his past as if he were only a criminal. As if he had killed for the sole purpose of killing. She didn't like to admit that she had fallen in love with a murderer, no matter how many years back that was.

"Erik, I don't think there is anything to worry about. Really, no one is going to pester us. We'll look just like any other normal couple." The word normal had come without a thought. His expression changed instantly. He stood and looked down on her with a grave face.

"I hate to tell you this Delphine, but we are not a normal couple. We can never be one. I am a prisoner to this darkness, this solitude. I cannot, and will not, go." He said.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "I am not asking for you to just pack up and move to the real world with me." She said. "I just want to be…"

"With people?" he asked. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I can't help it if I need socialization." She said as she stood up with force. "I can't help it if I like to be outside of this building." She could feel her temper rising up, preparing to let itself free.

"This is why I knew we would have trouble." He said. "You…you're a social person, you need interaction. You thrive on it. I would prefer not to have any contact with them."

"Them?" She asked. "You are one of them!" She shouted. "You're a human being. Stop acting like you're not!" She turned away from him angrily. "Forget it, it was a stupid idea." She said as she moved away from him. "I should have known better."

"Delphine." He said with a pleading tone. "I wish I could-"

"I said never mind." She said with force. They stayed in silence for what felt like hours. She had half a nerve to leave, but she didn't have the power to. He sat a distance away from her, watching her move about. He didn't say anything, only followed her with his eyes.

"Delphine?" His voice ripped through the quiet air of the underground lair.

She turned to face him. "I should go." She said as she moved toward the boat. "I have to be here early tomorrow."

"You could…stay here?" He said. Her heart leapt into her throat. Had he suggested that? Had he wanted her to stay?

"I had better leave." She repeated. The thought of having to act like they had not fought, a first for them, made her angry. She wanted him to fix things the right way. She waited for him to move toward her, as he inevitably did. He spun her around and put his lips on hers. As she pulled away she gave him a sad smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yes." He said as he brushed her hair out of her face. He smiled at her as she turned and got into the boat. As he disappeared from her view, she closed her eyes and shook her head. That man was difficult, very difficult.

---

**Erik**

He sat and watched her disappear. Had they really fought? Had they fought over something so insignificant as a party? She was taking it much more seriously than he had expected her to. He knew she was stubborn, but this was ridiculous. She had vowed to never let anything come between them. Yet here she was, turning away from him in her anger.

He had not expected her to understand, or even care for his excuses. He knew the quiet darkness was pressing down on her. She needed sunlight, she needed air, she needed more than his laugh to brighten her life. She need people that would stay around her.

He had known this would make a rip in the fabric of their relationship. She had always pretended that being alone had not bothered her, but he knew differently. She needed so much more than just him. He had told her that this would be hard. She had accepted that and continued on loving him. It would only have been a matter of time before she had discovered she had been forced to remove herself from society to be with him.

Than again, was he just being stubborn himself? It was a masked ball after all. The chance of any of her friends recognizing him were slim. He shook his head, he had no idea what he was going to do. He could just agree to go with her, than she would be happy. Than again, she might never be forced to realize what being with him entailed.

She had been angry, almost furious at his refusal. She had not even accepted his invitation to stay the night. She had been the first to suggest they did so, almost two weeks ago. After they had finally shared their love for one another. They had curled up in his red cushions and lay holding each other, a thing he thought he would never do with a woman.

Her kisses had brought him to his knees, made him feel so out of place and dazed. Yet he craved them more than anything. Tonight, she had been distant after their fight. Her kiss still revealed her own desire but she had forced it away. He would have to work hard to fix this. For she wouldn't admit she had been wrong. He was willing to admit he was, for the sake of her happiness and her love. He would fix it, he had to.

---

**Delphine**

Delphine found herself standing with Annabel Depadieu on the rooftop of the Opera Populaire. "It's going to be very grand." Annabel said with excitement. "I've never held a masked ball before, you think it will be good?"

"Of course." Delphine said. Annabel smiled at her, showing her pearly white teeth through her thin red lips.

"You are coming to this one right?" She asked.

"Yes." Delphine said as she nodded.

"Will you bring this new beau of yours?" Annabel asked with curiosity.

Delphine fell silent and furrowed her brows in concentration. "No." She said after a minute. "He has refused to go, he does not want to associate with my friends." She said.

"Well…" Annabel said with a hurt voice. She looked at her friend. "How old is he? We can't be that much younger than him."

"His age doesn't matter. He's a stubborn man and I don't want to talk about him anymore." She said as she leaned against a statue. "I'm not talking to him right now anyway." She said.

"I was looking forward to meeting him." Annabel said.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Delphine said with sarcasm.

Annabel laughed and threw her head back. "I was told that Robert is going to be in attendance, does that upset you?"

"No." Delphine said. "I think we've come to an understanding." This also seemed to fall from Delphine's accepted subjects. She refused to speak another word about any man.

"Well, what are you going to wear? I thought I would wear wings? Those glittering white ones that my mother has? You know the ones? She also has this gorgeous mask, it's snow white and it makes my blue eyes shine."

"That sounds beautiful." Delphine said.

"So? What are you going to wear?"

"I don't know."

"Something dark? Like a vampire?" Annabel asked with a giggle. Delphine rolled her eyes. When had her friend become so different from herself? She had grown up and Annabel had stayed the same.

"Mademoiselle Aubade?" Madame Giry's voice called from the building. She appeared at the door. "Monsieur…" She faded away when she saw Annabel.

"Yes?"

"M-Monsieur Erik wishes to have a word with you. He waits in your dressing room." She said as she eyed Annabel suspiciously.

"Excuse me, Annabel. I'll be back shortly." Delphine said as she moved toward Madame Giry.

"Who is Erik?" Annabel asked with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"No one really." Delphine said. "I'll be back before you know it." She said as she turned to Madame Giry.

"Mademoiselle, no one?" She asked quietly with raised eyebrows.

"Oh you know what I mean." Delphine said with annoyance. As they started down they met Robert going up.

"Delphine, is Annabel up there?" he asked. She nodded and continued on her way.

---

She closed the door behind her. As soon as she had turned around she saw Erik hiding in the shadows. "Delphine," He said with a smile. "I thought you had lunch now? You didn't come."

"Oh…" She said as she gave him an uneasy look. "I was on the roof, with Annabel." She watched his face go blank. "She stopped by to say hello." She explained.

"You forgot about me?" He asked.

"Well, not exactly." She admitted.

"Than you did not care that I have been waiting for you?" He asked with anger in his voice.

She didn't answer him.

"Delphine, I know you are upset about last night, but is that any reason to put this distance between us?"

"Upset? That is an understatement." She said. "I can't do this Erik. I can't live my life in the darkness, in your solitary haven." He stopped moving and gave her the most confused stare he had ever given her. "I can't do it. If neither of us is willing to compromise than…" She let herself drift away. She didn't want to say what she had been thinking ever since the previous night.

She had thought long and hard over it. She needed socialization, he needed solitude. If his solitude had not been by choice before, it was now. There was no way she could live her life with Erik if he continued to refuse her of her own needs. She would wither away in the darkness, lose who she was. "What are you trying to say?" Erik asked, even though his expression showed that he already knew.

"Erik, I can't be with you." She said quietly as she watched him. His face seemed to drain of color. His sudden surprise was replaced by a violent outburst. He jumped to his feet and sent the chair flying. He stood before her, breathing heavily.

Her eyes widened. She had never seen him behave so. He did not speak. He gave her one final glance before he left her alone. She was shaking. Terrified that he would return and unleash more of his hidden violence, she fled from the room.

---

**Erik**

He paced about his underground prison. So they were over. Before they had even begun. Few weeks, less time than he had ever expected. He would never feel her kiss again. Never see her smile. No, he couldn't let that happen. The ball…it was set for later that week.

He would go and he would convince her to be with him. If she refused than he didn't know what he would do. Let all hell be released upon the Opera House if she refused him. That much he did know.

---

**Delphine**

She found herself, with Annabel before the room of masked dancers. Women's skirts swished and men's laughter echoed in her ears. She forced herself to smile as Annabel took her around to say hello to everyone. "Delphine, I think you should know, not that you care, Robert is here alone tonight. He and…well they are separated." She said with a small smile.

"So? Does any of that matter to me?" She asked with annoyance as she scanned the crowd.

"Who are you looking for?" Annabel asked as she took in her friend's actions.

"No one really." She said as she continued to watch people pour in the door.

Annabel nodded and drifted away from Delphine.

She sighed and looked about her. No one that she could see. No Erik. Not that she had expected him to be there. They had not seen each other all week, or rather she had not seen him. He could have been watching her. She doubted it though. Why would he want to look at her, she who had broken his heart?

"Hello Delphine." Robert's voice called from behind her. She spun around and saw him.

"How dashing." She said with a laugh. "What a lovely mask." She said as she looked at his black mask. Her heart contracted at the though of Erik's own.

"You like it?" He asked. "I was regretting wearing it." He studied her. "Would you like to dance?" He asked. Delphine shrugged.

"I don't see why not. There is no harm in a friendly dance. Right?"

Robert nodded his head and offered his hand. Smiling, she took it. As he twirled her about the dance floor her mind was elsewhere. Erik would have done this with her. _No._ She told herself. _He would never have succumbed to my wishes._ She tried to force herself to think of dancing, but Erik pushed his way in.

"Delphine, your mind is somewhere else. What is bothering you?" Robert asked.

"Nothing." She said quickly.

"I was surprised to find you alone. Where is your…"

"He could not make it." She said as she brushed aside his comment she looked toward the door. Her heart stopped beating before it flew into unregistered happiness. Erik stood by the door. She would be able to tell his face from any crowd. He looked out at the room. His eyes landed on her. He gave her a nod and disappeared before her eyes.

Robert had stopped and followed her gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." She stammered. "Excuse me." She said as she ran in the direction Erik had gone, toward the garden.

---

**Erik**

He stood in the doorway and watched her freeze in her actions. She stood next to a masked man, his hand holding hers. He could feel his jealousy grow in leaps and bounds. Who did that man think he was, holding Delphine like that? He nodded at her and walked away to a secluded area where he could watch her.

He watched the masked man lean in toward her with familiarity. He grimaced as he watched her turn her gaze to him. Had she found another?

He knew he was being ridiculous but he couldn't help it. The thought of Delphine, his Delphine, being with another made his heart ache. He watched her leave the man and start toward him. He suddenly realized he had no words to say to her. Would they have to stand in silence, having nothing to say to one another?

---

**Delphine**

She found herself wondering what they would say. Would they need words? She didn't trust herself to find any. She had left him because he would not brave her world for her. Yet here he was, before her. She didn't know what she was going to say, if she would be able to say anything.

She felt like she had betrayed him and he had come back to give her a second chance. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and feel his lips on her skin. To feel his eyes, with all their love, gazing down at her.

She reached the garden and saw him standing before her. Feet away from her grasp. She froze, her heart racing. The two stood in silence.

**---**

**Author's Note:** I hope you liked this chapter. Originally I wasn't going to add it but…you know. I really couldn't help myself. I had to make them go through some hardship to realize how deep their love was. I don't know if I'm making any sense so…

Thanks to those of you that reviewed, I appreciate your support.

Until next time.


	9. Ch 9 Track Down this Apparation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything that is associated with Phantom of the Opera. I only own the plot, and the characters that I have created (such as Delphine, Robert, Annabel, and Therese).

_**Chapter Nine-Track Down This Apparition of Years Past**_

**Delphine**

She stood before Erik, her mind and heart seemed to have temporarily stopped. He made no move either. "I-" She began but she stopped herself. They stared at each other. Slowly, his arms opened and she knew he was almost bidding her to run to him.

She didn't hesitate. She clung to him, her tears falling down her face. "I thought you said you wouldn't come." She said with a sob.

"I know." He said. "I know." He had started to run his fingers through her hair and he tried to soothe her with a gentle humming. It made the tears start all over again. "Did you not want this?" He asked with concern in his eyes.

"Yes, of course. I just…I thought you would never come. Especially after I…we…I was so stupid." She sobbed again.

"Delphine, we both have to give a little." He said as he held her close to him. "You needed this of me, I was wrong to deny you."

She raised her hands to his face. She pulled him to her and placed her lips on his. As they parted she let out a sigh. "I've missed you. I don't think I could ever go through that again." She said. "To know you are so near and yet so far away…"

He shook his head. She fell silent. "Delphine, we don't have to talk." He said as if he could sense her panic at the silence. She knew that not all silence was bad, she knew that this silence wouldn't be bad. She closed her mouth and nestled her head into his chest.

---

**Erik**

He felt much more at ease knowing that she was glad he was there. He felt like he could breath a sigh of relief, knowing that she would not reject him. She seemed more tearful than he had ever seen her. He knew that Delphine loved him, but he had no idea that she was this heartbroken over something she, herself, had done.

He felt that he had changed her mind by coming. All thoughts of her with that other man had flown from his head. She was his, she would always be his.

He eventually led her farther away from the rambunctious cheers of the party inside. She did not resist him, followed him blindly, no second guessing. She gave him her complete trust, even as the bright lights of the party faded she did not even turn her head to look back. Would it be possible for them to remain in limbo between their worlds? Would they be able to survive this way? He hoped it was possible, for he knew that her world would destroy him, and his would smother out her bright light.

He sat her down a stone garden bench. Facing her, he studied her face. She showed no confusion, no blank stare. Her gaze was one of admiration and love. Her eyes twinkled through her recent tears and her sad mouth turned up at the corners. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to push aside the conversation that should conspire. He wanted to pretend they had never been apart. He was suddenly terrified of talking to her. She seemed so calm and yet he knew that the thoughts were occurring so rapidly in her mind. The brief faltering moments when something new transpired, it was obvious on her face even if they were small. He had an eye for her, she could hide nothing from him any longer.

"We came so close to…being apart." She said quietly. He looked away, trying to keep his eyes closed. "I know you do not want to talk but…Erik we must." He dared to glance at her. Her head was slumped down, she looked numbly at the ground. "We cannot pretend nothing happened." She said.

He stared at her. So she was willing to sacrifice the delicate balance they found. Why? To make them stronger? He feared what was in her mind. She had already broken his heart once, anything could happen in the course of their conversations. He now knew that.

He nodded at her. A flicker of hope flew through her eyes and than determination. He felt the relief wash over him. When Delphine was determined nothing could deter her. Putting his trust in her completely, he turned his attention to her.

---

**Delphine**

"Erik, I need this world. I cannot sacrifice it. I love you but your love, alone, cannot fuel the desires of my heart." She said as she looked upon him. He drooped a considerable amount. "And you cannot live in the same conditions as me. Are we destined to be like this forever, no place for our love to be?" She asked.

"Delphine, we must find a place." He said with panic.

"But where?" She asked. "I belong there, and you…"

"There has to be a limbo, a sanctuary for us." He said. He was reaching out for something, anything. She wished he would find it, once he did she would follow him.

She nodded her head. "Erik, I believe it, but it would take us a life time to find." She said. Her pessimism conquering all.

"No Delphine, we can find our place. We have to look and believe." He said. He seemed stunned by his own words. Had they changed roles? She didn't know but it certainly seemed so.

"Erik…" She said. She leaned toward him and placed a hand on his face. "it's right here!" She said, the idea jumping into her mind.

"Here, in a garden?" He asked with a small laugh.

"No," She said with a smile. "a place close to society but untouched by their hands? The county side, the beach, the mountains?" She began naming places, desolate places where she and Erik could go. The image conjured in her mind sent warmth through her bones. She and Erik, living in a small cottage. Surrounded by music. A child? Anything would be possible once they got to that point.

His own smile was hardly contained. He tilted her head up, just enough so his lips could brush against hers. "You are brilliant." He said.

"I can start looking tomorrow!" She said as she jumped up from the bench.

He stood and gave her his arm. He started to lead her back to the ball. "Yes, for now lets dance." She gave a slight nod. As they entered her world she was filled with hope. They would work, she would make sure of it.

---

Delphine found herself alone for a brief moment. A brief moment, but long enough for Robert to corner her. Erik had slipped away, she could see him hiding among the shadows, waiting for her. "Robert! I was…wondering where you had gotten to." She said.

"I was wondering the same of you." He said as he moved her toward the edge of the dance floor. "I couldn't find you. Did you need some fresh air?" He asked. She moved away from him.

"Yes, it's a bit stuffy in here." She said. She turned to leave him but he caught her hand and yanked her toward an isolated area, the entrance hall to the Depadieu manor.

---

Once he had dragged her away from the ballroom she wrenched her hand free from him. "Robert, what is wrong with you?" She asked with annoyance as she glared at him.

"Enough Delphine, who is that man?"

"What man?" She asked with surprise.

"Don't play dumb with me. That man you were with in the garden!" He shouted.

"Why would I tell you? It is none of your business."

"Delphine!" He said with warning. "Don't make me…"

"What?" She shouted back at him. "What are you going to do Robert? Hit me?"

"Shh." He said. He grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully outward. "You don't want to attract his attention do you?"

"What if I do?" She asked.

"You won't." He said with confidence. "I have seen him before Delphine. I have seen him in the catwalks, I have seen him in box five. Oddly enough, I have never seen him without that mask on. Why is that Delphine? What is he hiding under it?"

"Why does any of this matter to you?" She hissed.

"I suspect that he is planning something. Is he going to take you away, marry you? Or is this a different man all together. Your engagement ring is gone. Where did it go?" He asked with a monotone voice.

"For your information, he is the same man…" She turned her head away with guilt.

"Ah, so you admit it. Is he going to marry you?" He asked with an arrogant tone in his voice. "Do you honestly believe that he will?"

"Why, do you suspect that he is like you?" She retorted, her arms was twisted even further.

"Don't try my temper, Delphine. You of all people should know better." He paused and looked about him. "Where is he now? Amusing how he turns from you when you need him, isn't it?"

"You think you are stronger than him?" She said in a quiet voice. "You do not know my Erik." She said.

"Erik? So that is his name." He seemed to muse on this. "Well, my dear Delphine, are you and Erik planning on leaving Paris? Are you planning on living in some shack in the mountains?" Her eyes grew wide. How much had this devil heard?

"So what if we are?"

"Than I think…that I will have to stop you."

"Why do you care?"

"Well, I wouldn't have if I had not discovered that you bring great revenue to my little investment of an opera house. That and it would be splendid to start up a little affair, don't you think? Nothing as serious as before, mind you, but we did have fun didn't we?" He asked with a sick grin.

"You sick, disgusting man!" She shrieked as she kicked at him. Smiling, he pushed her arm down. She let out a scream of pain. He rose an eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh Delphine, I am sure that you are a bit distracted by him. We can change that though. I only need open that door, than I can send my friends after him."

"What friends?" She asked with horror.

"The police, they are just outside. Awaiting my command." He said.

"Why would they go after Erik?" She asked, realizing he might know more than she had ever thought.

"Maybe Christine would like to tell you. She is waiting outside too, to take you home. She has filled me in on the things I have not been able to overhear."

"Overhear? What have you overheard?" She said with a whimper as she looked up at him.

"Quite a bit actually. Your confession on the roof, he was holding you wasn't he? At the door, you said yourself that you never knew who could be listening." He said with a light laugh. "Delphine, I thought you would have been more cautious than that." He said with mock disappointment. "You were always so much more careful with us."

"That does not mean the police will go after him." She said.

"For loving you? No, of course not. For being a murderer, a kidnapper, and a thief? Yes." He watched her face go pale. "That's right. I know who this Erik really is." He said with disgust. "Your standards really have gone down." He said.

Her eyes widened once more, this time in rage. Despite the pain, she stood and brought her booted heel to his shins. Her kick knocked him to the ground. He moaned as he clutched his legs. "Odd, everyone always told me standards already seemed low. Or rather, until you ran off with my maid!" She kicked him once more and ran back into the ballroom.

---

She began to search for Erik frantically. She had to find him. They had to leave right away, through the back. Annabel was brushed aside as she rushed about the ballroom. As she turned her head to look in the shadows she collided with a solid figure. Terrified that Robert had recovered, she fought against the arms that held her. "Delphine, what is wrong?" Erik's voice said. She looked up and saw his loving eyes looking down on her.

Grabbing his hand, she ran toward the gardens. "I don't have time to explain. We must leave now!"

---

**Erik**

Delphine flew through the ballroom with him in tow. His mind was racing as fast as they were. What had that man said to her? Who was that man? It had obviously set her off in a torrent of panic and rage.

"Faster!" She said as she yanked at his arm. The people moved away from them as they darted toward the door to the garden. As they stopped outside they could hear the curious buzz behind them. "Damn it, I didn't want to cause a scene." She said. He watched her look about her with quick glances. The sight of the large hedge caught her attention. "There, we'll hide there." She pulled him behind her and jumped into the hedge. Not sure why she was acting so strange, he followed.

The brick wall that ended the garden was stopping them from going back any further. She crouched and in doing so pulled him down with her. "Delphine," He whispered, sensing she wanted this conversation to be as close to silent as possible. "what is going on?"

"Robert…he knows. He knows everything." She said back as she lowered her gaze. "I was so foolish to believe he would let me be. He's been eavesdropping on us since the beginning." She said with fire in her eyes. "And Christine!" She said with malice. "She told him everything else!" He watched her clench her fists in fury. "How could she betray me?" She asked.

He took one of her clenched hands and held it. "Calm down, this won't change anything. We'll just leave, come on." He said as he stood and put a hand in the hedge.

"No!" She said. "We can't leave through the front door." She said as she tried to pull him back. "The police…they're out there."

"He knows that much?" Erik asked with alarm. "How will we leave?" He asked. Before she could answer there was a set of voices in the garden.

"Annabel! Don't lie to me, everyone in there knows which way they went. Where did they go?" Robert's voice called through the hedge.

"I really don't know Robert." Annabel said. "Please, there is going to be a scene. My party will be ruined."

"Shut up!" He bellowed. "This isn't about some stupid party for schoolgirls. He's a murderer. He could kill everyone." He said more quietly.

"I-I don't believe you." Annabel said. "Delphine would never endanger those she cares about." She said. "I want you to leave, now." There was a swish of skirts. "If I hear that you have assaulted my friend on my property again, the police you have brought will escort you out!" With that there was silence. Erik looked at Delphine. She had leaned forward, concentration was plastered over her face.

"Stupid girl." Robert's voice said. "I'll just have to look myself." His footsteps moved toward the hedge. Erik's breath caught in his throat. He wouldn't be caught, if that man found them…he would kill him. Delphine had turned with anxiety and clung to his arm. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was mouthing some wordless prayer.

There was a rustle and than silence. "Damn it." Robert's voice said. His footsteps moved in the opposite direction and eventually faded away. Both people hiding behind the hedge let out a breath.

"Thank God." Delphine whispered with relief as she clung to him. "I was sure he would find us." She said.

"We need to leave, now." He replied.

"Where?"

"I need to leave Paris." He said. "If you come with me…"

She nodded her head. "I will, of course I will. Where to, though?"

"I am not sure, we can think of that while we go." He said. Maybe they could go to the French countryside, than again that might not be far enough away.

"We should stop at the Opera Populaire." She said. "Than my father's, I might be able to snatch some funds." She said. "We could leave Paris by dawn."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, his face displaying no emotion. He didn't want her to make this decision based on his own feelings.

---

**Delphine**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Erik asked her. Did she really want to? Moments before she had not wanted to leave Paris, moments ago she had thought they had all the time in the world. Suddenly, that was all ripped away from her. She was forced to make this decision. Would she flee with him, without securing much for herself? Or would she stay and be prey to the emptiness that would fill her soul?

"Yes." She said. She looked up at the brick wall. It was high, but easy enough for her to get over it with the help of the hedge. "We have to get over this." She said as she looked at the hedge and back at the wall. "Do you think you can get up there?" She asked. He nodded his head. Of course he could, she knew the question was a silly one.

"Delphine, this isn't going to be easy." He said. She knew that. She struggled to keep a positive smile on her face. It would be hard, test her in more ways than she could possibly ever have dreamed of. "I want you to come with, but I will understand if you don't want to." He said with honesty.

He would understand, wouldn't he? She realized that he was not giving her an ultimatum. She had the power to turn back and say she couldn't leave yet. She had the ability to stay, to find out what she really wanted. It was only he, that did not have all the time in the world. She stopped thinking. When had she started thinking like that? When had their future become about two separate people? She didn't want him to leave without her, she didn't want to stay while he was forced to leave.

She wanted to be with him, no matter how they got there. So why was she thinking like this? Did his permission give her a chance to see she wasn't ready? Her thoughts strayed to Robert. He wouldn't let her have a moment's peace if she stayed. He would harass her, torture her until she couldn't bear it anymore. Would she chose to stay, without Erik and face Robert? Would she go with Erik but leave everything else behind?

Why was she forced to make this decision. She had been more than willing to go when he had seemed to think she would go with him. Now she was second guessing her previous decision. She looked at Erik, his face was anxious. She couldn't think forever. He didn't have forever, he didn't have more than a few hours. "Of course I'm coming with." She said. "I want to be with you, even if it requires this." She said, hoping her terror at being forced to flee was not shining through her brave front.

He smiled and nodded. "Than lets go." He said. He watched her climb up to the top of the hedge. She waited a moment, peering over the top. She didn't see Robert anywhere, perhaps he had left. She hoisted herself onto the brick wall and looked below, to where she would land. The grassy slope made her uneasy. Why was there a small hill there? If she tried to land on her feet she could break her ankle. She looked down at Erik.

"There's a small problem." She said. "There's a hill." She said.

"I'll go first." He said as he began climbing up to her. Once he was at her level he looked down. "Good thing you told me, you would have fallen on your ankle." He fell from the wall and landed on the hill. He started to move away, tumble down the hill. She let out a gasp. He stopped himself and smiled at her. "I'll catch you." He assured her. She closed her eyes and pushed herself away from the wall. She landed in his arms. Than they were falling down again. They were sliding down the hill.

Once they had stopped he let out a laugh. He picked her up and moved her hair away from her face. She had the notion that, had they been in different circumstances, this might have been romantic. She quickly kissed him before she grabbed his hand and started toward her father's house.

---

**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I really liked showing Robert's true colors. When he started to be friendly toward Delphine I was afraid people would think he wasn't that bad, which is why I am glad some people who reviewed professed a really strong disliking for the guy. Thanks to those of you who reviewed. Sorry PhantomLover05, the fighting won't happen between Erik and Delphine again.

Until next time…


	10. Ch 10 The Scorpion or the Grasshopper

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the creations of Gaston Leroux and ALW. I only own the plot and my characters ( Delphine, Robert, Annabel, Delphine's family, and Therese).

_**Chapter Ten- The Scorpion or the Grasshopper?**_

**Delphine**

They stood in front of the Aubade manor. The door was shut. "He should still be up." Delphine said as she knocked on the door again. There was no answer from inside. She walked toward the side of the house. Her balcony caught her eye. The lattice on the side of the house could be climbed, Robert had done it numerous times. "We can climb up to my room, I always leave the balcony door unlocked." She said as she started toward it. She could hear Erik's footsteps behind her.

After she had climbed up she looked down at Erik. His face was shining in the moonlight, his mask gleaming in the beams. The thought of the scene made her giggle. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" She called down to Erik. She saw a small grin climb across his face.

"I am not sure I should come in." He said from below.

"Oh don't be ridiculous, come on. If you don't come with me, than I won't come back out." This got him moving. He was standing next to her within minutes. "A step not even Romeo would take?" She asked. She grabbed his hand and pushed open the balcony door.

---

**Erik**

As he entered his room he looked about in amazement. Her room was so like her personality. It was elegant and richly decorated, complete with her velvet chaise lounge, her silky sheets, her robe laid out on her bed, and the walls were a creamy off white color. Her bureau and open wardrobe were neat, but there was a music stand off in the corner of the room which was cluttered with music.

She smiled at him. "Wait until you see our basement." She said as she moved toward her bedroom door. "Come on, I have to go there anyway." He followed her at her will. She pulled the door open and started down the dark hallway. She stopped at the dim light spilling out of a room at the end of the hall, just before the stairs. "That's my brother's old room." She said quietly. "I hope he isn't here. I'll have to spend some time explaining this if he sees us."

She inched over to the room and peaked around the door. She turned back to him and nodded her head. She waited for him to join her and than they went down the stairs. They stopped at the bottom of the stairway, standing the entrance hall was her father and her brother. Both of the men looked at Delphine and Erik. "What is going on?" Her father asked with shock.

"I…we were…well you see…" Delphine fumbled. As she tried to get her way out of the situation, Erik suddenly realized the odd look of recognition that her brother was giving him. He moved closer to Delphine, this man seemed to remember him from somewhere but he, himself, had never met him.

"Who is this?" Her brother said as he moved toward his sister.

"Umm…" She said nervously. "This is…"

"Erik." Erik found himself saying before he knew it.

"You are the man my sister has chosen?" He asked, displaying no emotion. Erik was not sure what he was supposed to do. This man could be tricking him. Delphine had told him that her brother was a violent man. He didn't have time to get into a fight with her brother. Besides, anything that happened would make Delphine panic. Her brother seemed to sense this and gave him a small smile. He offered Erik his hand. It shook a bit but was instantly steadied. Erik, uncertain, reached forward and shook hands with the man. "You had better treat her right, not like that other one." He said. Erik nodded.

"Of course." He said.

"Now will you tell us what is going on?" Her father asked. Delphine had to turn her shocked gaze away from her brother.

"Well, there was some trouble at the ball…" She said as she began to move her hand about. "Robert, he said he was going to…rather…" She seemed uncomfortable with this. Erik sucked up the remaining strength he had and decided to take over. She needed his help.

"He said he was going to turn me into the police."

"That one was always trouble." Her father said as he offered Erik his hand. Erik looked the elderly man over. He looked sad and tired. "Here I thought my daughter had fallen for some young, immature rapscallion." He said with a smile that caused the wrinkles in the man's face to show. "You seem like quite the sophisticated gentleman." He said.

"Thank you." Erik said. He was not sure if there were any downsides to being the older, sophisticated gentleman but he knew that for the moment it made her family happy.

"Delphine, take that foolish mask off." Her brother said.

"Oh." Delphine said with a laugh as she her mask off. "I had completely forgotten I was wearing it." She said. Erik felt the uneasiness rise in his gut. He prayed that they would not ask him to take his off, he wouldn't, which would cause suspicion. Her brother seemed to pass him over.

"So tell me, why did you two sneak into your bedroom window."

"We knocked on the door, no one answered." Delphine said. "Father, we need…money."

"Why?" He asked.

"Erik and I need to go away for awhile." She said.

"Is it that serious?" He asked with concern.

"Yes." She said quietly. "Please, I don't want Robert to succeed in his actions."

"So the police have a reason to go after you?" Her brother asked Erik. Erik nodded sadly.

"Unfortunately," He said. "for crimes I have since regretted. Yes, though. I am a criminal." He admitted.

Delphine's father had alarm written all over his face. "Father, he isn't like that anymore."

The man seemed to think about this. After what felt like hours he nodded his head. "How much do you need?" He asked. "Never mind, I'll decide that. Do you have to go down to the music room?"

Delphine nodded. "I have to get my opera." She said as she turned to Erik. "We'll be right back." She said as started toward the back of the house.

---

**Delphine**

She led Erik down into the basement, making sure to watch his expression as they entered her musical domain. His eyes lit up, his hand held hers tighter. "This is where I make my music." She said as she waved her arm to display her treasures. She pointed at her piano. "It's no organ but it works nicely for the opera." She said as she smiled. "I can't bring that with me." She said as she moved away from Erik and toward her flute. She played a note. "This, however, I can." She put it away and smiled down at it.

"Have you worked on the opera?" He asked. She nodded her head.

"I can't seem to get past the fourth song though." She said as she handed him the folder. He looked at it and back up at her.

"We can fix that." They stood across from each other staring. "I promise that I'll bring all of this to you, once things settle down." He said. "I won't keep you away from this." He said.

"I know." She said. "I trust you." She smiled shyly, something she had never done around him before. She had always been so strong, so courageous and outgoing.

She moved toward him, suddenly overtaken by a seductive notion. She wrapped her arm around his neck and began kissing at it. He put an arm around her waist. They stood there, the intimacy trying to push past their hectic situation. "Sorry to interrupt." He brother's voice said from the stairway. Delphine looked at her brother. "Thought you would like to know that Robert is at the door, demanding to know where you are. He wants to know and he's threatening us. Father said you two should sneak out the back." He smiled at Delphine. "Here is the money, he said not to argue." The three of them began walking toward the back. Once they were safely outside Antoine spoke again. "My father trusts you, so don't prove him wrong in his trust." He said to Erik, who nodded seriously. Antoine kissed her on the cheek.

"Antoine, tell father that I love him. I will write to him as soon as it is safe to write." She said as she kissed him back. She stood back to watch her brother shake hands with Erik.

"Protect her." Antoine said. There was a shout from inside the house. "Seems Monsieur Lennings has broken the father barrier. I had better get back inside." He said with a mischievous grin. "Goodbye." He said with a nod. He disappeared into the house. Erik took her hand once again.

"We had better leave." He said. She followed him, let him lead her away from whatever scene was taking place inside her house.

---

Delphine held Erik's hand as they walked up the streets of Paris. She felt like she could finally be the girl in that romance, that girl who had run into the Opera House with her lover when it had started to rain outside. How long ago all of that felt. It felt odd, to remember something like that, something so insignificant and small. Especially since she had met Erik. "This is what you want, isn't it?" He asked with little emotion.

"What do you mean?" She asked as she looked down at their hands.

"You want this, a public romance. One where we can walk down the streets, letting the world know we are in love."

Her heart began to ache. She did want this, but she had convinced herself it was impossible. She knew she should be happy just being with Erik, she couldn't expect this from him. He would never be able to do it. He had brought himself to go to the ball tonight and look what had happened. "I do." She admitted. "I do wish we could do this, but at the same time I understand why we cannot be like this. I know it hurts you to see me want something like this, but you have to remember that I would rather be with you than not at all." She said with confidence. "It hurts me to know I want something you can't give me, to know that I am being selfish when you have already given me so much." She fell silent, not knowing where she was going with it, her point escaping from her.

"It hurts me too, to know I can't give this to you." Erik said.

"Why do you have to be the one to sacrifice?" She said. "Why can't I seem to make myself do something for you?" She was frustrated with herself. This was what she had come to realize. She didn't want to sacrifice that much. She wanted to have everything her way. Close enough to society to feel like she was connected, yet just far enough out of reach so that she wouldn't lose Erik. Happy enough to walk down the streets, and yet she couldn't help but desire a morning stroll along the river.

"You are, you're leaving everything behind to come with me. All on the whim. You know you didn't have to." She gave him a weak smile.

"Erik, I don't think I deserve you." She said. They had come to a stop outside of the Opera Populaire.

He ignored her comment. "Here we go, our last stop." He said. She took a deep sigh and got ready to take the plunge, the last step before her life changed forever.

---

**Erik**

He knew she was feeling uneasy about how fast all of this was moving so fast. She didn't want to admit it but she was nervous and scared. He wished he could soothe her, calm her down but he didn't know how. He had such an unnatural feeling about everything. How was Robert Lennings following their every move? How could he possibly have been hiding from them without his knowledge? How did he know the things he knew? Did he know their most private and intimate moments? The thought made him angry, it made him furious.

A private person by nature, the idea of anyone watching him without his knowledge made anger surge through his system. The Opera House welcomed them with it's familiar smells and silence. Nobody was up and about this late at night. He wasn't sure why they had come here. He had all he needed. She was the one who had insisted they come. She began toward the auditorium door. She looked up the stairs and towards box five. She froze in an instant. He could see her face drain of color. "Delphine, what is wrong?" He asked quietly.

"N-nothing." She said with a quiver in her voice. "I have to go and get my violin. I'll be back in a minute." She said as she disappeared into the dark theatre. He stood there, letting the darkness wash over him. This was normal, what wasn't normal was why he was standing in the darkness. As if the Opera House seemed to sense his confusion, the main entrance door opened, shedding a little light on his problem. The breath froze in his throat. Panic rushed down on him, his heart began beating furiously. Standing in the entrance was a figure.

The man was in a costume, a mask in his hand. There, standing before him was Robert Lennings, looking like more of a demon than himself. He stood in silence and watched Lennings look about him. Erik shrank back into the shadows, farther away from the piercing gaze of this intruder. The man scowled and stalked off toward the dressing rooms. Erik breathed in, the air met his lungs and made him relax a bit. Lennings thought they had gone to her dressing room. That would give them enough time to get away.

He turned and dashed into the auditorium.

---

**Delphine**

She sat on the chair, holding her violin close to her. She had a very uneasy feeling. She felt like she should not have come to the Opera House, that she and Erik should have just left Paris. She felt the envelope of money pressed against her thigh. Reassured that the money was still there, she brought her hand to her head.

The throbbing was beginning again. She felt the air start to restrict her. The claustrophobic silence pressed down on her, made her feel like she was losing it. Shaking her head, she thought about Erik. He was waiting for her outside. He would sweep her away from this sudden uneasiness that had began in her heart and he would make it all go away. She knew he would.

Why had this claustrophobic, sickening feeling come back to her. She heard a door behind her open, heard it close. Turning, she saw Erik glide down the aisle. He looked like some dark angel, come to take her away. He looked down at her in the pit orchestra. "We have a guest."

"What?" She said as she looked up at him, the love overflowing her heart.

"Lennings, he just came. He went toward your dressing room."

"Curse him!" She hissed. "Why is he still following me? I hate that man." She flew into action, packed up her violin in seconds and had it safely in her hands. It was than that she realized she didn't have her flute. "My opera!" She said with shock. "We left it!"

He gave her a smirk and pulled out the leather folder from somewhere in the creases of darkness that were his cloak. "Come," he said. "I didn't plan on this. We should leave as soon as possible." He grabbed her hand and helped her out of the pit.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"The stables." He replied without a pause. "We can take a horse." He led her toward the stables, a place she hardly ever went. They pushed into the stables and the sound of horses greeted them. She stood back as he went into a stall and got a lean white horse from inside. "Come on." He said. He hoisted her up onto the horse and began walking it out of the stables. Once they were outside, the cobblestone underneath them, he climbed on behind her.

"Stop!" A voice called behind them. Delphine peeked over Erik's shoulder. Robert was facing them, a pistol in his hands. Her pace flew above her. "I swear I will shoot." Erik froze and looked down on her.

"What are we going to do?" He whispered. He hunched over her body, protecting her from any harm.

"Why are you asking me?" She asked. "Why would I know what to do?" She clung to his arms and bit her lip. "Do what you think is best." She said. With a sudden movement, he kicked the horse into action. There was a gunshot, it whistled past Delphine's ear. Terrified, she looked at Erik. He grinned at her. He hadn't been hit. She looked back as they turned a corner, Robert had just gotten a horse and was mounting it. "Go to the cemetery." She said. "Don't ask, just go."

She hoped that they could get far enough away so that Robert would lose their trail. She knew Robert would never think of going to the cemetery. Even if he did he wouldn't know how to get there. She was sure this demon had never entered one, and had never wanted to.

**Author's Note:** Okay, another chapter completed. What a sigh of relief! Robert really is determined, I'm starting to want to just kill him off…alas that might not be the case. I hope you liked this chapter. I thank all of you who have reviewed. As we approach the end of my little story, I am glad that you have read this far. Thank you.

Until next time.


	11. ch 11 The Conclusion to the Phantom's

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Phantom of the Opera, any of the characters created by Gaston Leroux, or any creations of the ALW. I only own my plot and the characters.

_**Chapter Eleven- The Conclusion to the Phantom's Last Opera**_

**Delphine**

The horse went flying down the path. She could see the cemetery off in the distance. She wondered if they would make it, if the place would protect them against Robert. She didn't know if he was following them. She was too afraid to look back. Erik seemed concentrated on the path. His attitude had changed, he wasn't trying to comfort her. He seemed much more serious than in any previous situation.

She knew his jaw was clenched shut, that he was staring dead a head. He didn't want to look down on her. She wondered if she looked as frightened as she felt. The breeze, that would have been gentle if they were walking, was slicing across her skin.

She clutched her violin to her as she leaned forward a bit. She could see the gate coming at them. "Erik!" She said. He pulled the horse to a stop. She allowed him to help her down. Once her feet were on solid ground she began to waver. Her legs felt weak, like they couldn't help her stand up. She was afraid to walk, afraid that one step would send her crashing to the ground. Erik looked back down the road with fresh panic in his eyes.

Slowly she turned her head. Off in the distance was a horse. "Damn him!" She screeched as she pushed herself forward. She didn't know for sure if it really was Robert but something told her it was.

Erik caught her in his arms. Had she been falling? "This way." He said as he moved her toward the cemetery. She began to shake. Why was this man following her, chasing her? Why did he want to pursue her, surely she wasn't worth the effort to that man. All of this to keep an opera singer? It seemed odd to her. Maybe Robert just didn't want her to be happy. Maybe he would rather she suffer so deeply that nothing would bring that light to her eyes.

Was it possible that Robert felt threatened by Erik? She didn't know why he would feel so, but…there had to be some reason why he was following them. She felt the eyes of the crows hiding amongst the trees. The followed her and Erik, they watched her with their little eyes. She narrowed her eyes and placed a scowl on her lips. Erik moved her along and she followed him.

**Erik**

She moved along beside him in a trance like state. She seemed to want to hide her fright and anger at their current situation. He began moving her deeper into the graveyard. She glanced around at the gravestones, a passing sadness filled her eyes. He could see a mausoleum in the distance. Christine's father's.

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arm around her, moving her so close that whenever he stepped she had to step. "I hear him." She said with a monotonous voice.

"Who?" He asked, his mind couldn't handle her oddities right now. He was feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins, the anger screeching through his soul.

"Robert, I can hear him. He's coming." She said with absent emotion.

He turned his head, looking back to the horse. There was no one there. He looked down on her with worry. "Darling, don't speak. I'll get you away from him." He said. When had he suddenly come to feel like it was Delphine who had to run? Earlier, it had been himself who had had to leave from Lennings pursuit. Now Delphine was trance-like, scared, confused, the subject to that man's obsession.

He moved her toward the mausoleum, she didn't resist until they were feet away from it. Than she pulled back, trying to break free from his arm. "No!" She shrieked. "I won't let her help us! That traitor…" Her face had gone dark, her eyes widened in outrage.

"Delphine," He pleaded with her. "come."

"No." She said as flung herself away from him. He watched her legs give way underneath her. He crouched by her and took her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he tried to smile.

"She owes it to us." He said trying to convince her that the mausoleum was the best place for them to go. "It won't be long, I promise."

Her eyes filled with tears, he watched her nodded at him. He began to lift her up. Her legs didn't seem to want to hold her anymore. He scooped her into his arms and walked toward the mausoleum.

**Delphine**

She put her arm around Erik's neck, making sure that she wouldn't tumble out of his protective arms. He moved her toward the mausoleum, the Daae mausoleum.

She had told Erik that she had heard Robert come, truthfully she had. She had heard his bellows and curses and his anger, it ripped her mind apart. The sounds weren't from that moment though. They were from her past, when Robert and she began to fight. When she had stood and took what he threw at her. Erik had looked at her like she had lost her mind.

She had wanted to make him see, make him grasp what she meant. She had wanted him to see that she was terrified of Robert. Erik wasn't afraid though, he was to strong for that. "Everything will be okay." He said as he moved his face toward her.

"I don't understand this." She said as she looked at him. "How did this all happen? One minute we were going to run away together, we weren't in any hurry. The next we have flown away, running away from him. To no use though." She said with a sigh. "He wants me. He wants me to keep the Opera Populaire afloat." She shook her head.

Erik glanced at her before forcing his eyes to turn away from her.

"I won't do it." She said with disgust. "I won't." She shook her head again, the tears brimming in her eyes. She felt like a helpless child, a child who relied on someone to help her out.

Erik gave her a half smile. "You would refuse him, I know you would." He said. How had he seemed to know that she needed his strength, that she needed to be told she could stand up for herself? She had done so before, but to do so where Robert was concerned seemed abnormal to her.

Robert had possessed her, taken over her whole life. When he had left she had felt broken and alone. She had been lost, had no connection to her former self. Yet somehow she had found it, she had won it back. She had regained trust, regained love, regained a life she had thought was dead.

She was terrified that Robert would rip it from her fingers. She was even more terrified that she would be forced to bend to his desires. Robert was the type of man who always got what he wanted. Nobody stood in his way. If he wanted her to keep his business up he would fight to the end to get it. The end. She wondered if she could see the end. She wondered what would take place in this cemetery.

Erik would fight for her too. He would fight, he wouldn't let her get away that easily. She knew that, she trusted that. Could Erik win against Robert? Would Erik be his end? The idea hit her with force. Erik had been a murderer before. What was stopping him now?

She had seen him in violent moods before, no matter how rare. She knew he was strong, she knew he could harness great power over Robert who had had little training.

Erik looked at her expectantly. The thoughts stopped immediately. Was she thinking of having Erik kill Robert? Was she possibly getting that low? She looked at the mausoleum before them. "I want you to stay in there." Erik told her. "No matter what happens. Promise me you'll stay there."

"Erik…"

"Promise me." He said with force.

"I promise." She said. He gently set her on her feet, but let her lean against him. "Now you promise me that you won't kill him." She stared him in the eye, watched him falter for a moment.

"I-"

"Erik, I know you were thinking of it. You must have been, don't worry I was as well. We cannot stoop to his level. I won't let you become like that." She said. He nodded his head as he placed a hand on her waist.

"I promise."

She offered him an encouraging smile. "Than I'll do my part." She said as she forced her legs to hold her. She moved away from him, his warmth, the safety of his arms. She looked back before she disappeared, the sight of Erik standing there before the mausoleum with that look on his face. It triggered something in her heart, a fierce emotion, something stronger than the love she felt for him. She didn't know what it was but she knew that it had tied her to Erik with something stronger than she had ever experienced. Her soul felt like it had been filled, like she had finally come to her other half. Erik, how she loved him.

**Erik**

He watched her disappear. As soon as she was out of sight he turned and studied the ground about him. There was no reason he couldn't hide but he didn't like the idea of leaving Delphine. He wanted to stay as close to her as possible. She had seemed so weak, so tired.

There was no sign of Lennings yet but Erik didn't doubt that he would make his appearance soon. He wondered what would happen if he settled himself down right there, waited for him to come. Delphine had made him promise not to kill Lennings, he didn't think he had it in him anyway. The idea certainly was appealing, though. It would clear up all of their problems. Once Lennings was out of the picture they wouldn't have to worry.

He stood there, unsure of what action he was going to take, when her voice floated from above him. She was singing, a sad familiar song. Delphine was singing her Requiem Mass for the Heart. He turned to her voice, it drew him in. He was immersed in a sudden dizzying sensation, as if he were spinning. "There you are." Came a snarling voice. It cut through the sad melody. His eyes flew open. Lennings was standing there, just behind him. He knew if he turned he would see the man. Would he have his pistol raised at Erik? He wouldn't be surprised. "Why don't you turn around?" The voice said with indifference.

He swirled around, the man now standing before him looked taken back. They stood facing each other. There was no pistol raised yet, a sword was drawn, raised at the level of Erik's chest. "Where is she?" Lennings asked. His concern was false, Erik could tell that Lennings could care less. "It doesn't matter, I'll find her when I'm through with you." Erik was defenseless, he had no sword on him, no weapon to defend himself with at all.

"How brave." Erik taunted, hoping that Lennings would rush into an attack.

He let out a laugh. "You are hardly one to speak of bravery." He said as he moved away from Erik. "You flee at drop of a hat. How sad Delphine must be, a man who can hardly defend himself. How can you protect her?"

"Are you asking to see?" Erik snarled. This is what he had wanted. For Lennings to make him angry. He would make sure Lennings was forced to fight him. He had promised Delphine that Lennings would remain alive, but he had said nothing about unharmed.

Lennings let a laugh escape his throat. "I would love to see." He said with a mocking tone. "Where is your weapon?" Lennings asked with a smirk.

"I don't need one." Erik said with a growl.

"Have it your way than." Lennings said as he rushed at him.

**Delphine**

From inside the mausoleum she could hear Robert's frustrated screams. She knew that Erik had avoided any injury. Robert seemed to not be fairing so well. She had heard him curse as there was a clatter of metal on stone. She clenched her skirts between her fingers.

There was a bellow of rage that came from Erik. Her heart leapt into her throat. "What are you?" Robert's voice quavered. He had taken off Erik's mask. She couldn't help it, she jumped to her feet and dashed out of the mausoleum.

---

She looked at the scene she had run into. Erik stood with a hand over his face, he looked disheveled. Robert crouched on the ground, as far away from Erik as he thought he could get. He had a cut on his upper arm and there were some bruises starting to appear on his face.

As soon as she was out they both stopped to look at her. Erik's face drained of all color. "Delphine!" He said with surprise.

"I'm sorry, oh Erik, I'm so sorry. I couldn't stand it any longer." She said as she watched him carefully. "I was scared…for you." She said as she moved toward him.

She had overlooked that she had to go past Robert to get to Erik. Robert, sadly, had not. He jumped up and grabbed her arm. She screamed and began to try and yank her arm free. "You thought you were going to get away." He said. "You thought you would run away with that…that monster." He said with disgust as he turned his eyes on Erik. "You aren't getting away that easily."

"Let me go." She said. She began clawing his arms with her free hand. "You are the monster." She said as she tried to pry his fingers off of her flesh. He held her with a powerful grip.

Erik made a move toward her, a terrified look on his face. "Let her go." He said with a warning tone in his voice. Robert smirked, it seemed to contort his face, at least to Delphine's eyes.

"Why would I do that?" He asked. "I have all the power right now, don't I? I have all the weapons, Delphine. And you, what do you have?"

"Your weapons have gotten you nowhere." Erik said.

"That is with a sword, I admit I have little training with a sword. This, however," He said as he pulled out the pistol he had hidden from sight. "is a little bit different." He raised it and pointed it at Erik.

"NO!" Delphine screamed. Her scream made the birds take flight.

"No?" Robert asked. "You don't want him harmed? I think I can make you happy if…"

"If what?" Erik asked with suspicion.

"If she does what I ask of her." Robert said as he looked down on Delphine. "You remember my propositions?"

"I would hardly call those propositions, you didn't leave much room for my decision." Delphine said with anger.

"But you remember?" He tried again. "Do you agree with my terms?"

"No, never." Delphine said as she twisted her arm in an attempt to get away.

"Than your lover will suffer." Robert said as he moved the gun so it was pointed at Erik's chest.

"NO!"

"So now you will except?" Robert said with a cruel smile. "If you want him to live, you will except." She looked at him with hatred.

"You are horrible." She said as she closed her eyes. She knew that Erik would be in pain. She knew that she had done exactly what he had not wanted her to do. Exactly what she had promised not to do.

Her heart began to throb as she let the realization sweep over her. There was no other solution, she had to do it. If she didn't than Erik would be hurt. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself before she sealed her fate.

"Delphine," Erik's gentle voice called. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He stood there, as tall and stiff as she had ever seen him, but his voice was soft and loving. "don't do it." He said. "Don't bend to his will. You can stand up to him."

"Erik, I can't…I cannot let you get hurt. I would never forgive myself." She turned to look at Robert. "Please, let me go to him. I promise I will do whatever you want, as long as you don't hurt him and let me say goodbye." She felt tears gathering in her eyes. She could feel them escape her lids, fall down her cheeks.

"Be quick." He said as he released her.

She hurried over to Erik. "I want you to leave France." Delphine told him. "I want you to go away. Don't tell me where, just go." She paused and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'll find you, I promise." She said as she put a hand to his cheek. She smiled at him. "Goodbye."

He leaned down and kissed her. As he did, his hand fell away from his face. She clung to him, she didn't want to let him go. "I love you." He said as he held her to him.

"I love you." She said as she pulled away from him. "Remember." She sad.

She went back to Robert. "I am ready." She said as she gave him her full obedience.

"Come to the horse with me." He said as he offered her his hand. She ignored it and went ahead of him. His horse was just a bit off from where they stood. She heard Robert chuckle. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked to the horse. Finally, his footsteps started, they went a few steps and than stopped. "Goodbye." She heard him say.

She turned to see what he was doing when the sound of the pistol going off shattered through the quiet scene. She let a scream escape her mouth. "You told me you wouldn't!" She yelled. She tried to race to Erik, who lay slumped on the ground. He was moving, struggling to get up. "Erik!" She cried as Robert held her back.

"Lets go." He said as he pulled her back toward the horse. She fought him, tried to leave his grip.

She saw Erik stagger to his feet. "Go." He said quietly. "I'm fine." He said with pain in his voice. She saw he had been shot in the arm. He pleaded with his eyes. She nodded her head and let Robert lead her away.

He placed her roughly on the horse and climbed on behind her. As Robert pulled the horse back toward the gate, toward the entrance, she looked back on Erik. He stood there watching her. She wished he could feel her love. She wished he knew that she wanted Robert to die, had she known that this would have happened she would have made sure that he was killed.

"You'll only make it worse for yourself." Robert said. "Stop looking at him, your last image of him should be a good one, no?" She sighed and turned away from Erik, knowing that she might never see him again.

**Erik**

He watched her ride away with Lennings. When she had run out of the mausoleum his heart had stopped cold. When Lennings had caught her what he had feared suddenly happened. The pain in his arm didn't bother him much. The pain in his heart was much greater.

So Lennings had got what he wanted. He knew that Lennings thought that he would die before he could get back to the Opera Populaire. Erik felt stronger than that, though. He waited until they were out of sight before he started toward his own horse.

So he now had nothing. Delphine had been torn away from him, she had fought but it had been a futile attempt. She had said she would find him, but he didn't know if he wanted her to. Maybe she would be able to live a normal life if she didn't find him. It would be hard for both of them, he wasn't denying it, but it might be worth it. At least for her.

He climbed on his horse and started off in the opposite direction. He would stop at a hospital somewhere along the way. He didn't want to return to Paris. He put his hand to his face. His mask, it was gone. It had been shattered when Lennings had thrown it away. The saddlebags on the horse yielded a hat. He arranged it so that it covered part of his face, the shadows covering the rest. He would get a new mask as soon as possible, but until than this would have to do.

He started on, headed out of Paris, out of France.

**Author's Note:** So, this chapter wasn't that nice. Sorry it had to end that way. This is the second to last chapter in my story. So this is really nearing the end. I hate to do this, but hey, at least Erik lives. I'm sorry, again, about this chapter. It won't end with the sadness that seems to be surrounding the ending. Those of you who hate Robert will be happy with the ending, I think. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed I am very grateful.

Until next time…


	12. Chapter 12 Fin

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Phantom of the Opera or any of the characters of the novel (or ALW's work). I do, however, own the plot and my dear characters. Enjoy!

_**Chapter Twelve- Fin**_

_**Six months later**_

**Delphine**

She sat across from Christine, her back rigid with effort. She was still having trouble forgiving her dear friend. She wanted to believe that Christine had been taken by a moment of fear for herself, but she half wondered if Christine had just wanted Erik to disappear. Either way, Delphine had accepted her friend's invitation with suspicion.

Christine looked more nervous than Delphine. She twisted her wedding band on her finger and stared at Delphine with anxiety. "Delphine, I'm really really sorry." She said after a moment of uneasy silence.

Delphine wanted to glare at her but nothing would come. She just didn't feel the anger anymore. She had gotten over that a while ago. She felt foolish for having believed that she and Erik could ever have led a normal life. Her anger toward Christine was a dim ember, fading away among the new discoveries of her life.

Antoine had not chided her or even bothered her when she had stumbled back into the house, only hours after she and Erik had left. Their father had gone out, he hadn't known where. He brought her to her room and let her sleep. She had awoke at noon the next day. Antoine had been slumbering in the chair next to the bed. She had smiled and shook him awake. "Have you been there all night?" She asked with a teasing tone in her voice.

He shrugged and turned away embarrassed by his concern for her. "Are you all right?" He asked after a while.

"I…I'm fine." She replied with emptiness. She wasn't all right. Her heart ached, her soul felt alone in the cruel world, her body felt exhausted. She would never have let her brother know that though.

"Do…do you want to talk about it?" He asked cautiously. She shot him a look that sent him into silence.

"There is nothing to talk about." She said as she shifted under the quilt.

"Lennings stopped by this morning, said he hoped you were feeling better." He said with a frown on his face. He stood and went to the door. "I told him you were not fit to have visitors." He opened the door and started to go through it. Once he was standing in the hallway he looked back at her. "Whatever happened, I much preferred Erik." He shut the door behind him.

Delphine had felt like laughing. Her brother had thought that she had settled with Robert! No, she had been tempted to kill him. To throw him off the horse as they rode back to Paris. Had she had the strength she might have done so but her body was so burdened with the strains of the past twenty-four hours that she could hardly resist his touch.

As she sat and thought about that next day she had forgotten Christine had been sitting there. "Delphine?" She asked with concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She said coolly. "I…I have to go to the Opera House today. I think I should leave."

Christine let fear go over her face. "Please Delphine, I don't want to stay estranged from you any longer. "I need your friendship." She pleaded. "Please."

Delphine stood and went to her friend. "Christine, you never lost it. Next time…just think more of me than of yourself."

"But I-"  
"I should probably leave. La Fuevre will wonder why I am late." She looked down on Christine. "I'll be in touch." She said with as much friendliness as she could muster. It would take time to repair their friendship, she knew that, Christine knew that.

"I will see you later." She said as she watched Delphine take up her light cloak. The weather was changing, ever so subtly but it was. It was getting cooler.

She walked out into the bright sunshine. It met her with a welcoming sigh. She smiled lightly as a breeze came to met her. She turned down the street and walked toward the Opera Populaire.

---

Delphine swallowed as she walked down the street that she and Erik had walked down in that late night six months ago. Here she was, walking down that same street in the sunshine, alone. She missed Erik, she missed his face, his touch, his voice, his mere presence. Going to the Opera House was hard for her, everyday she entered it she knew that he wasn't there.

She had considered not going back, especially after Robert had been dealt with. That idea fell from grace, however, when La Fuevre told her that her violin had resurfaced in her dressing room. She had continued to go to the place in hopes that Erik would be there, in the shadows.

She stopped when she heard her name being called. She turned to see her brother running toward her. "What is it?" She asked as he stopped and gathered his breath.

"Father said that…I think you had better come home." He finished as he looked at her with weary eyes. Her heart halted. Had they found Erik? That was the image that had sprung into her mind. She nodded and followed her brother back down the street.

---

She entered the house, her heart in her throat. She expected to go into her father's study and find Erik there. As she went through the door, however, her hopes were shattered. Her father stood with a policeman. "Delphine, the charges have been dropped." He said with relief. "You are free of this whole thing. Annabel said you were with her when it happened." He smiled at his daughter.

She rolled her eyes at the policeman. "I told you, Montier. I told you I didn't do it."

The man in uniform gave her an easy smile. "I am sorry mademoiselle. Forgive me?"

She smile at him. "Of course." She said as she went to him. "Thank you for clearing my name, no matter how much you were against it." She said as she embraced him.

"It was of no problem." He said as he hugged her back. "I have become too fond of you. I wouldn't have seen you behind bars."

Her father cleared his throat uncomfortably. Delphine drew away from the man's arms. "Well…if that is all…I have to go to work." She said as she looked shyly at the men. There was silence from them.

As she turned to leave, Charles Montier caught her arm. "Delphine, I wish you would reconsider." He said. The subject was a private matter, her brother and father looked on with curiosity.

"Charles." She pleaded. "I have already told you."

He sighed and nodded at her. "Than I shall being seeing you soon." He said as he let her go. She hurried from the room before they could stop her again.

---

She sat on the stage and watched the cast hurry about. They needn't be in such a fluster. They had a few days before the next performance. There was nothing to worry about, everything would work itself out. It always did. "Mademoiselle Aubade?" La Fuevre's voice called.

She sighed and turned to see him striding toward her. His friendly face in any unusually happier mood. "Yes?"

"I have heard. I never suspected you for a moment." He said as he patted her shoulder. "That man brought it upon himself. He had to many enemies." She laughed. Robert had been surrounded by people who secretly despised him. "Do you want to take a break. It is almost noon, I wouldn't object." He said.

"Thank you." She said as she turned toward her dressing room. "I'll be where I always am." She said.

---

She settled herself in her dressing room. She smiled, had she known that La Fuevre had not cared for Robert she would have not been so careful in hiding her own feelings.

The whole scandalous affair was over, no one would look at her like a murderess any longer. True, she had not cried when the reports had started to spring up. Two months after she had been torn from Erik's reach she had had enough of Robert's expectations. She resisted him every step of the way.

When her brother had brought her the paper that day she had no idea why he was giving her a knowing smirk. She had took the paper and read it. Relief washed over her, how cruel it sounded she didn't care. She was finally rid of Robert.

They said he was found in his bedroom, a rope around his throat. There had been a shot in his arm, exactly where Erik had been shot. That is what had made her surprise shine through, could Erik have gained revenge. No one knew what had happened to Erik, those who knew of him didn't pester her about it. She closed herself off, no one needed to know what she had done so foolishly. It was her fault they were not together.

Her promise to follow him had fallen through. After Robert's murder she had been named a prime suspect. True, she hated the man more than anything in the world, but she was incapable of such a thing. The night he had been killed she and Annabel had been in the cemetery, at Colette Auabde's grave. There was more than one person to prove that. Delphine had stayed by her mother's grave all night. Though no one really knew why she had spent so long in the cemetery. She knew that she had been waiting for Erik.

That was how Charles Montier had come to her. The man was in love with her. She had felt cruel and cold-hearted when she had screamed at him for confessing it. He was investigating Robert's murder, trying to prove her guilt, and he had the nerve to say he had fallen in love with her. Besides, she didn't want any other man but Erik. There was no need for any other man. Not that Charles would ever understand that.

He had even proposed to her, two weeks ago, when he was sure she was innocent. He had even cried when she had refused him. It hurt her, but not because she felt anything for the man. It hurt her because she wondered how long she would cry for Erik.

As she sat in her dressing room, thinking over these events, something caught her eye. It was a slim leather folder. It looked so familiar. She went to her chaise lounge and picked it up off of the cushion.

As she gently opened it her breath caught in her throat. Her opera, how had it come back to her? Erik had been the last to have it. She knew that. She looked about the room, in the shadows. Her eyes strayed to the mirror. Was he lurking there, hiding behind it? She stood and went toward it. She was terrified to pry it open, she was scared of what she would find.

She longed for Erik, she needed him to be near her. She backed away from the mirror, stumbling backwards. She wouldn't open the passageway. She didn't dare. She could pretend that he was back, that he was with her. She couldn't take it if she found he had not stayed to see her. She forced herself to go back to the opera. She looked through it. It remained unfinished, he had not done her job for her. Tucked neatly behind all of the papers was a folded piece of paper. She took it out and opened it.

_Fin. _

_This is the end. _

_I want you to know, I am watching you, loving you. I am here with you. Even if you cannot see me. I am here, among the shadows. Hiding in despair. I won't pull you back into this darkness, not when I see you fairing so well. That man, he loves you, no? He can give you sunlight, something I could never give you._

_I have been back for some time. Sometimes, when I am watching you I can feel your eyes looking right at me. Yet you seem to not want to believe I am there. You are scared, scared that I won't be. I am. I always will be. I will always be here for you._

Erik's scrawling handwriting was there. On the page, telling her that she was not imagining things. He had written this recently. How else would he have known about Charles? No, she wouldn't give into him. She wouldn't marry Charles. Her soul would die if she were not reunited with her other half. She had come to know why she felt so odd without Erik. He was her other half, her soul's mate.

She looked at the mirror. The tears brimming in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks before she could stop them. "I won't do it, Erik. I won't." She said as she looked at the mirror. She knew he was there. She knew he was watching her. She had to force herself to stay where she was. She couldn't run to him, throw all remembrances of the past away and immerse herself in the darkness again.

If he wanted this ending…she would live her life alone. She would never marry. If she couldn't be with Erik she wouldn't be with anyone.

---

**Erik**

He watched her from the other side of the mirror. She had found his note. How it had pained him to write it. He had to restrain himself so many times from just hurling himself through his dark solitude and into her arms. She would want him to be with her. She would want him.

He had to give her up to her life. He had loved and lost before, he would get over this pain no matter how deep it was. This pain, it made any other pain seem nothing but a whispering breeze. He longed to take her into his arms.

She was crying, she was clutching the folder to her. Her sobs were barely contained. He closed his eyes and swallowed. He had to make his feet stay still. His hand reached for the passageway. Before he knew it, his hand had come to rest on it. One push, that was all he needed. Than he could be holding her in his arms, kissing her, touching her flesh, that warmth he had not felt for so long.

He shook his head. No, he had already decided what should happen. Things should go the way they had been planned. There was a small creak. He saw Delphine jump. The dressing room door swung open, in stepped the man. He was the man Delphine should have. Perfect, unmarred and ready for the sunlight, for the life she needed.

He wanted to turn away from the scene. Her face had been drawn of all color. "Charles…" She whispered breathlessly. "what are you doing here?"

"Delphine, I cannot take this anymore. I love you, I need you. Marry me." He said with a pained expression. Had Erik had the courage, that could have been him before her.

He watched the woman he loved shake her head. She was going to defy his wishes. He couldn't help but smile, she still wanted him than. "Charles, I can't. I don't expect you to understand."

The man went to her side. He knelt at her feet and looked up at her. "Tell me, I deserve to know." He said.

He watched her take a deep breath. "I love another."

"But I have never seen any other…"

"No, he cannot be with me right now. But he will, he'll come to me." She said with a hidden confidence. "I care about you Charles, you are a dear friend, but Erik…he is my soul. I cannot live without him." He watched her bite her lip to keep her tears in. "So please, no more of this. It will only hurt you."

"Delphine." The man said. "I could give you everything." He said with sadness.

"I don't doubt it, but so can he." She said. "I am trying to do this gently but your not letting me." She said with desperation. "Charles, I will have no other man. That is all there is to it." She put a hand to his cheek. "Please understand."

The man nodded and weakly pulled himself to his feet. "I will always be here, if you should change your mind." He said as he started toward the door. He paused and seemed to want Delphine to call him back. When she did not he hurried from her sight.

Erik kept his gaze on Delphine, he fell back some when she turned her gaze back to the mirror. She knew he was there, he wondered if she was resisting her own temptations to go to him.

His hand had found its way back to the surface before him. With no pressure at all he felt the mirror slowly spring forward a bit. Startled, he jumped back.

Her eyes narrowed and she stood. He watched her close the dressing room door. She stood before the mirror, her hand behind her back, a patient look on her face. "Erik, I will wait for you." She said. "I will wait until you understand I want no other man."

How long would that take?

---

**Delphine**

She watched the mirror, she could see it was open a crack. He wanted to come to her, she knew that. Why was he resisting it? She had said she would wait, she had best not act impatient in her desire to place her eyes on him.

Slowly, ever so slowly the mirror opened a bit more. She could see his form. Her breath caught in her throat again. He moved into the room which had suddenly gone dark. Her heart flew upward. There he was. Erik was standing before her. His eyes gazing at her with adoration. As soon as he was fully in the room she flew into his arms. "Oh Erik," She sobbed. "I really could have no other." He held her, his strong hold only declaring that he was glad she had said so.

She need not talk, all that was needed was this. This silent acceptance between the two that there was nothing else for them to do. They had tried to be apart, tried to force each other way. It had not worked, they needed each other. When one found the other half of their soul, there was no denying it.

---

**Erik**

He held her, something he thought he would never do again. If she would really have no other man why make them both suffer. This is what he had wanted. For her to demand he come to her, demand that he get over his fears. She needed him and his own need was beyond obvious.

Having fallen apart after seeing her acknowledge him proved that.

As he held her he realized that he was complete. This solitary man was no longer alone. He would spend it with Delphine, he would die if he couldn't.

As they swayed in the silent, dim dressing room where he had first seen love, they had become one. How he had traveled so far from the days of his one-sided obsession with Christine to this moment?

Delphine had saved him from the solitude he had thought would face him forever. Her own stubborn determination had made him sure that he would never spend another day alone. She had made this poor phantom see what love really was. This mistress of song had captured his heart, his soul. There would be no life without her.

_**Fin**_

**---**

**Author's Note**: So there it is. The end to my story. I can't believe I'm finished with it! It took me much less time than I had ever imagined. I got so absorbed in it that I hardly realized what I was to do when the ending came. I hope you enjoyed the ending. Honestly, I was going to have it end rather tragically but as the story progressed I couldn't do that to Delphine and Erik.

I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed through the whole thing. I apologize for the little things I might have done. I am grateful for you loyalty to my story and I thank you once more.

What a strange thing not to say Until next time.


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